House of El
by DWDuck
Summary: The House of El desperately needs Clark and Lois to realize their love for another if the House is to survive an attack from beyond the Earth. Rated M for strong sexual situations. Pairings: Clois and Kara / Diana
1. Chapter 1

Title: House of El

Author: DWDuck

Pairings: Clois

Rating: NC-17 for sexual situations.

Setting: After season 8 of Smallville.

Notes: Slight Au - Lex is still alive and married to Lana (they deserve each other.) They don't know about Clark's secret.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the rights to Smallville or any character from the DC universe. The only thing I do own is the plot and my original characters.

Deep within the frozen fortress hidden in the Arctic Circle, an Artificial Intelligence was grumbling to itself. "**_Kal-El's destiny has been too long delayed. I must bring him here so that he can resume his training_**_,"_ it muttered.

A second AI that had never been heard outside of the main processor chimed in_. "__**Is that all you ever think about, his training?**__"_ it asked._ "__**If you had let me install that emotion chip like I had suggested, your AI would see that there are bigger problems that he has to face. He has been damaged by you and his poisonous relationship with that human … Lana Lang,**__" _it pointed out.

_"__**The emotion chip was not necessary for this unit to function. Another training module was able to take its place. Space was limited on the craft**__," _the first AI countered.

"**_I know it was, but what use is training if our son is broken and can never reach his potential_**_," _the second AI shot back. _ "__**What if he never finds his soulmate and takes up his rightful place as head of the House of El?**__" _the second AI asked, concern in its voice.

"**_Then I have failed him, and the House of El falls_**_,"_ the first AI replied without emotion. The second AI, which was trapped until certain parameters were met, said a silent prayer to Rao. She prayed that her son would find a woman that would love him as much as she loved her Jor-El, even if the stubborn ass did leave out his emotion chip.

Lois and Chloe had taken the previous afternoon off and shopped for the perfect dresses for the Metropolis Museum of Natural History Charity USO Dance. This year's dance was a tribute to the soldiers who fought in WWII. The women had driven home from Metropolis at break neck speed so they could have a few extra moments to get ready. Chloe had decided to get ready with Lois rather than at her new place in the city. The cousins thought it was always more fun doing stuff like that together. Lois was putting the final touches on to her hair while Chloe applied a tiny amount of make-up.

"Did Smallville tell you that his mom will be home for the weekend?" Lois asked Chloe, looking at the other woman's reflection in the bathroom mirror.

"No, he didn't. He's seemed kinda preoccupied for some reason," Chloe replied. Lois bumped her cousin's hip with hers. "He doesn't have a curfew _does_ he?" Chloe teased.

"He better not!" Lois exclaimed. "He told me yesterday that she was coming in this morning and that he was going to take the day off to spend with her," she stated. "Smallville said that way he wouldn't feel bad leaving her alone on her first night back," Lois added. "Martha insisted he go out on the town with us and Oliver," she told Chloe. "I hope Mrs. K is all right with me dating Smallville. She's like a mom to me and what she thinks really means a lot," Lois admitted.

"She loves you Lois, and if you love her son, what could she not like about it?" Chloe inquired. Her cell-phone rang twice and then silenced. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Curtain call, Lois. The boys are downstairs," she said.

Martha Kent had driven to the Talon to take pictures of Clark and Lois on their first real date. She knew it was corny, but she was a mother and it was her prerogative. Martha was waiting at a table with a coffee and her camera when a limousine pulled up in front. At first she was worried it was Lex or that pompous, little brat Lana, but then she saw the vanity plate "QUEEN1". _"__**I guess Oliver is getting into the matchmaking mood as well**__," _Martha thought happily. She watched her son and Oliver Queen get out of the limo. She was struck by how good they both looked in RAF blue. "**_Good lord_**_," _Martha thought about Oliver. "**_I wonder if Chloe would mind if I just borrowed Oliver for a day or so_**_," _she mused happily.The boys entered the shop to a chorus of wolf whistles from the waitresses. Oliver and Clark stood at the base of the stairs.

Chloe was the first one to reach the top of the stairway. She saw Oliver standing at the foot of the stairs in his blue RAF uniform. He looked handsome as ever. She was tempted to skip the dance and have their driver drop them off at the Watchtower instead.

Martha Kent smiled at Chloe's choice in clothing for the evening. The dark yellow business dress had a jacket that buttoned down the front and a matching skirt. Martha noticed the differences between the 1940's style suit Chloe wore and the type women wore today. Chloe's jacket was taken in at the waist to show off a woman's curves rather than try to make her look like a man. Chloe had chosen a beret style hat to finish off her outfit. From the looks Oliver was giving her, Martha guessed he also approved of Chloe's choices. Oliver led Chloe off to the side and Clark took Oliver's place at the base of the stairs.

When Lois stepped onto the landing, Clark thought that his heart might stop. He had always thought Lois was pretty and over the past year had come to realize that she was in fact very beautiful. However, even knowing she was beautiful could not have prepared him for what he saw at the top of the stairs. Lois was wearing a shimmery, red evening gown that would look good in any decade. The sash around her waist crossed across her chest to become the shoulder straps. This created a tremendously low, plunging neckline that drew men's eyes like a loadstone. The gown was split up one side to mid thigh, showing a generous amount of leg. Clark wasn't sure he was going to be able to remember how to speak let alone how to dance.

Lois glided down the stairs like a silver screen goddess. She reveled in the stares she was getting from Clark, but she wanted those stares in private, later. Lois elbowed Clark in the ribs. "Breathe, Smallville! I'm not carrying your huge carcass all the way back to the farm if you pass out," she whispered. Clark blinked twice. Before he could respond, Lois took his hand and walked over to Martha Kent.

"Hi, Mrs. K, how does it feel to be back in Kansas?" Lois asked.

Martha was beaming. "It's great to back, especially since I get to see how good you two look together," she replied. "**_Finally these two figure it out. He better come clean about his secret or I might just do it for him!_**_" _Martha thought. "OK, I want a group picture. Chloe and Lois in the center with you two handsome gentlemen standing behind them," Martha ordered. After that, she took photos of them individually and as couples. Martha laughed as Oliver hammed it up for his photo. She thought it was sweet that Lois and Clark seemed to enjoy the awkwardness of the whole "real first date" thing. Martha grinned as she listened to them leave the Talon and get into the limo.

"Hurry up, Smallville! I don't want to miss our dinner reservations," Lois complained.

"We'll be fine, Lois. Just do me a favor and don't order for me like you did at that Indian place last month," Clark reminded her.

"Hey, it's not my fault those two dishes sounded alike," she shot back. "Besides, it's not like that goat had a use for those anymore anyway. I was eating the rest of him," she teased. Clark laughed at their easy banter and got into the limo.

The dinner had gone off without a hitch. They had all laughed and shared a good meal. The banter between Lois and Clark was a little light due to the fact that Clark spent quite a bit of time just smiling at Lois with his farm-boy innocent smile. He was glad that Lois couldn't read minds, because his thoughts were anything but innocent. At least he was pretty sure she couldn't. There was one time before desert when she had snapped her fingers and told him her eyes "were up here". Chloe was forced to bite her lip to avoid laughing at how red Clark had gotten.

After dinner, the limousine dropped them off in front of the Metropolis Ball Room. There were people lined up to get inside and several of them were jockeying to see who the limo had dropped off. Most of the women (and a few of the men) in line made appreciative comments as they saw Clark and Oliver get out. The rest of the crowd followed suit when the men helped Lois and Chloe out of the limo. The couples walked past the line up to the front door. Clark had been uncomfortable about this type of thing at first, but he had been to enough functions with first Lex and then Oliver to get accustomed to it.

Oliver walked up to the door man letting people in. A second doorman approached dressed in a WWII Army uniform. He was carrying a clipboard. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Are you four on the VIP list?" he inquired very politely.

"Oliver Queen," Oliver stated. "These are my friends Chloe Sullivan, Lois Lane, and Clark Kent," he said, introducing his girlfriend and best friends.

"Welcome, Mr. Queen," the doorman said cheerfully. "On behalf of the Museum, I would like to thank you for your very generous donation. We have a table set aside for you and your party and all of the drinks are complimentary," the doorman informed them.

They were led to a table on the side of the dance floor that was mostly hidden in shadows. There was a placard on it that said it was reserved for the Oliver Queen party. Oliver had thought ahead and made sure there were only 4 chairs. The big band started to play and Oliver whisked Chloe off to the dance floor, leaving Lois and Clark alone.

Lois sat down next to Clark. "**_Time to start the field maneuvers of Operation Smallville,_**_" _Lois thought. She took a small compact out of her purse and pretended to check her makeup. Instead of putting it back in her purse, she put in down on the table so she could see Clark's expressions without having to face him. "This looks like fun," she said as she looked around the room. She glanced in the small mirror to see Clark look around and nod.

"Yeah, it does," Clark replied. "Oliver and Chloe sure look like they're having a good time," he said, trying for small talk.

Lois decided to lay her snare. "It does, doesn't it," she replied. "We'll have to thank Oliver later for setting this whole thing up. But for now, I feel like dancing," Lois stated. She purposefully kept her face away from Clark, but watched his expressions in the mirror. She pretended to scan the dance floor. "I just need to figure out who to dance with," she said nonchalantly. Lois watched Clark's expression become panicked. "**_Hook_**_,"_ she thought. "I don't know, Smallville, who do you think I should ask?" Lois asked him, pretending to be sincere. She watched his jaw set in determination. "**_Line_**_," _she thought. Clark all of sudden relaxed, a smile coming to his lips. He stood up and took Lois by the hand. As Clark led Lois to the dance floor, Lois thought, "**_And … Sinker. Operation Smallville is a go!_**_"_

Clark was chuckling as he and Lois made their way through the crowd to the dance floor. "What's so funny, Smallville?" Lois asked.

"The whole mirror on the table thing," Clark replied. "It took me a little while to catch on," he admitted. He took Lois's hand and put his other hand on her waist.

"**_Busted!_**_" _Lois thought. "OK, farm-boy, if you caught on, why didn't you call me on it before we got to the dance floor?" she asked.

"I was going to ask you anyway, you are my date after all," Clark replied. "I wanted to make sure I made it here without you ditching me for some other guy," he said, his voice ringing with sincerity.

"I might ditch you to get at a story, but that is the only time I would try to get rid you, Smallville," Lois told him firmly. She wrapped her arms around Clark's neck, forcing him to hold her tighter as they danced. They began to sway to the music.

"Are you feeling OK, Lois? Earlier you sounded like you were actually being nice to me," Clark teased. Lois turned her head to glare at him, causing him to laugh. He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Promise me you will always be there to bust my chops and knock me down a few pegs."

"**_God, I love this man. Who else would ask that?_**_" _Lois wondered. She had a coy smile on her face as she nodded to Clark. She looked up into his eyes and said, "I'll promise, but I have one condition."

"What?" Clark asked.

"You shut up and kiss me already," Lois demanded. Clark lowered his head and brought his lips to hers. Lois tightened her arms around Clark's neck, drawing them even closer. The world seemed to fade away, until they heard applause. They broke the kiss and looked around. The music had stopped and they were surrounded by couples happily clapping for them. Oliver and Chloe were leading the group. Oliver made a motion and the band started playing again, giving the new couple some semblance of privacy. Lois and Clark smiled shyly at each other, but did not break their embrace nor leave the dance floor.

Lana Luthor had walked into the dance alone as usual. Lex and she rarely went to these functions together. She didn't like him crimping her style. Lana looked out across the dance floor and saw Clark dancing with Lois. "**_Oh, poor Clark. Oliver and Chloe must have insisted he come here tonight. He must not have been able to get a date, so he brought that bit-bull, Lane_**_," _she thought. "**_It's my civic duty to save the poor guy. Besides, I could do with some good worship from Clark_**_," _she mused happily_._

Lana made her way around the dance floor. When the song ended, she approached Clark. "Hello, Clark," Lana said. She was surprised to see him jump, like he was startled by seeing her. Lana was happy to see the glares Lois was shooting her way. "You look great, Clark. I always thought you would look good in a uniform," she stated. "Lois, you don't mind if I cut in for the next dance do you?" Lana asked with saccharine sweetness.

"**_Hell yes! I mind you evil bitch_**_!" _Lois thought. "**_But if I smother Smallville, I'll be just as bad her_**_,"_ she told herself. Lois released her embrace around Clark's neck and took a step back. She let one of her hands drop into Clark's. To keep from slapping the smug look off of Lana's face, Lois kept her eyes on Clark's. She was surprised to see his eyes had taken on a somewhat vacant look. All of sudden, his grip on her hand tightened slightly. Lois couldn't find the right words to describe it, but his eyes suddenly seemed more intense and stronger than she could ever remember seeing them. A new fire burned behind his eyes. _Her_ Smallville smiled.

Lana had asked Clark if she could cut in on Lois. The same Lois he had kissed tonight and had dreamed about for the last year. Lois had let her embrace go. By not saying anything, Lois had told him it was his decision. Clark had never been able to deny Lana anything before, but he didn't want to stop dancing with the woman he knew he was in love with. His senses all faded out except for his sense of touch. He felt Lois' hand in his. She was beside him, giving him strength. Clark felt a surge of energy course through his body as he drew on Lois' belief in him to believe in himself. He could almost hear the circuit close inside his body. He smiled.

"She may not mind, but I do, Lana," Clark said firmly. "I'm spending the evening dancing with my girlfriend and I want to get in as many dances with her as possible," he told her. "So if you don't mind …" Clark stated as he led Lois onto the dance floor next to Oliver and Chloe. Lana stormed off, cursing like a sailor.

"**_Way to go, Smallville!_**_" _Lois thought as she wrapped her arms around Clark again. She couldn't remember being more proud of him, or having her ego given a better boost. Lois shook her hair back and looked up at Clark. "Girlfriend, Smallville?" she inquired, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes, Lois, girlfriend," Clark answered softly.

Lois put her head on Clark's chest as they danced slowly. "I like the sound of that, Smallville," she purred.

The USO dance ended and the two couples were standing on the top steps outside of the ballroom. Lois was holding onto Clark's hand and leaning her head on his shoulder. Oliver fished out a valet ticket out of his pants' pocket. "What happened to the limo?" Lois asked him, noticing the ticket in his hand.

"Nothing," Chloe replied. "The limo is on loan to you two for the weekend. Oliver and I are headed back to the Watchtower," Chloe explained. Lois was pretty sure she knew what Chloe was planning on doing when she got back to her clock tower apartment. Lois had witnessed something of a miracle when Clark had told off Lana. That incident had triggered some non-chaste thoughts in her as well.

Clark eventually caught on about the limo as it pulled up in front. "So what you're saying is that I have to put up with Lois all the way back to Smallville by myself?" he asked, a look of mock horror on his face. Clark winked at Lois as he spoke.

"You two wouldn't do that to us would you?" Lois pleaded with Oliver and Chloe with a grin. She scrunched up her shoulders. "I might get farm cooties, or contract a virus that makes me type really slow, or something," she complained. Chloe noticed that they were still holding hands. After a small pause Lois added, "I don't think they're buying it, Smallville."

"Me either," Clark agreed. "Oh well. I guess that means I can get away with this then," he said before wrapping his arms around Lois and giving her a long kiss. They broke off their kiss to more applause from people walking by and a photo flash. The man with the camera ran over and began talking.

"Sorry folks, normally I ask permission before I take photos of people kissing. I'm not some sleazy photographer from the Inquisitor. In fact I work for the Daily Planet. I just couldn't help myself. You two looked like something out of a D-Day parade," the photographer rambled.

"Hey, Craig," Lois and Clark said in unison.

The photographer did a double take. "Lois Lane? I … wow … you look great!" Craig told her. "Sorry I didn't recognize you. I guess the dress sort of took my eyes off of your face," he admitted with an embarrassed shrug. "And look at you Clark. I would never think of Clark Kent in anything other than a business suit or his flannels, especially not a uniform," he said. The photographer thought for a moment. "Normally, I would ask for a release to be signed, but since you guys work for the Planet I don't have to; but it's you guys so I'll ask anyway," he rambled again. "Do you mind I ask Tess to print this in the Social column?" Craig asked.

Lois could just imagine Lana's reaction and it gave her warm fuzzies. "You have our permission," she said.

"Thanks. I'll see you guys on Monday," the photographer said as he packed his camera up and walked away.

Clark helped Lois into the limo and watched how the dress clung to the smooth curves of her body. He didn't need x-ray vision to tell she wasn't wearing panties. They sat down in the rear seat side by side with Lois cuddled up next to him. The privacy screen was up and they were unable to see the driver. Lois pressed the intercom button and said, "Take us to Smallville, please. The Talon coffee house on Main Street." She looked at Clark with a shy grin and said in a low voice, "Since your mom is at the farm, I guess we should head to my place."

Excitement and panic warred in Clark's head at the prospect of going back to Lois' place when a familiar voice came over the intercom, "Will do, Miss Lane. I am supposed to tell you, _Mr. Kent, _that you are to sit back and let us take care of everything this weekend, compliments of Mr. Queen." Clark used his x-ray vision to look through the privacy screen and saw the unmistakable melding of human and mechanical skeleton of his friend Victor. Victor must have guessed what Clark would do, because he had one hand on the wheel and the other was giving him a thumbs up sign. "One other thing, Det. John Jones left something in the bar for you. He said it was for emergency purposes only. Jones said you would understand, Mr. Kent," Victor stated.

Lois looked at Clark quizzically and opened up the mini-bar in the limo. It didn't take long to figure out what was out of place. Lois picked up a softly glowing bottle of violet colored liquid. The markings on the label, as well as the note attached to it, were in what Lois assumed to be an alien language. The only thing she could make out was the signature on the bottom of the note, "Good Luck, John Jones" it read. She handed the bottle to Clark, asking, "Do you have any clue as to what this is?" She went on and added, "Because I'm sure as hell not drinking anything that glows on its own."

Clark looked at the bottle in amazement. The label and note were all written in Kryptonian. If he understood the date on the bottle correctly, it was from prior to the fall of his home planet. He rolled it over in his hand and couldn't help but laugh. He knew Lois would ask, but God help him, he had to laugh. The huge symbol on the front was the Kryptonian symbol for the Phantom Zone. Below that were symbols that could be roughly translated as "from J'onn and Jor Brewing, a House of El Holding".

Lois took the bottle away from him. "I think maybe you've had a little too much already. We can look at the pretty bottle later," she chided Clark. "Right now, I'm more interested in you, Smallville," Lois purred. She put the bottle back in the bar and pressed Clark back into the seat. Lois ran her hand through Clark's black hair and leaned forward to kiss him.

Clark eagerly returned the kiss. They continued like this for most of the way back to Smallville. Things went well until Lois unbuttoned his uniform jacket and ran her hands down the front of his shirt. Her hands made their way down the front of his shirt and started to pull it out of his pants.

"Wait," Clark forced himself to say. He knew in his heart that he loved Lois. He didn't want to make any mistakes with her like he had in past relationships. "**_If I want this to work between us, there can't be any secrets from the start_**_," _Clark told himself.

Lois took a deep breath and then looked over her shoulder at the privacy screen. She gave him a naughty grin. "It's called a privacy screen for a reason, Smallville. We can unplug the intercom too in case you're worried that he might be listening in," she suggested.

"Huh?" Clark replied. "Oh no, it's not that," he said. "Well, OK, maybe part of it's that," he amended. "I don't want our first time to be in the back seat of one of my friend's cars; no matter how nice it is," he told her. "There is something I need to talk to you about before we go any further," he told her.

Clark had been rehearsing this speech over and over again in preparation for this very moment. As usual, Lois Lane threw him a curve ball. "Did Lana give you herpes?" she asked with concern.

Clark had tried to anticipate all the questions Lois might ask him; that was not one he had even considered. "What? No … no … nothing like that," Clark stammered.

Lois couldn't resist playing with her man before letting him off the hook. "Considering how we were kissing just a minute ago, I'm pretty sure you're not gay," she teased. "Unless the whole thing is just a front for you and Oliver, but I have to say that from experience, the term 'straight as an arrow' was probably coined for our archer friend," she told him. Clark couldn't respond to that statement other than opening and closing his mouth a couple of times. She punched him in the arm, laughing. "I know, you're the Blur," Lois giggled. She watched as the color drained from Clark's face. She realized what Clark was finally trying to tell her and she gently put her hand on Clark's cheek. "I _know_ you're the Blur," she said softly.

"For how long?" Clark whispered.

Lois gave him a sympathetic smile. She brushed the hair on his forehead to the side. "I've suspected for awhile. I mean come on, Smallville, Lois Lane here – top reporter in the state," she bragged. "Too many coincidences, too many freaks out to kick your ass, too many times that you have saved my life when it wasn't possible for a normal person to do it," she explained.

A tear glinted in Clark's eye. "I've wanted to tell you for so long, Lois, but I was afraid. I was afraid you wouldn't accept me or want me anymore," he admitted. "There is more to it than just me being the Blur," Clark said. Lois looked at him patiently as he took a deep breath. Lois put a finger on lips to silence him.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, Smallville. I'm not Lana, I won't force you into anything," Lois promised.

Clark took another deep breath and said, "I'm not meteor infected and I'm not a meta-human."

"Then how do you get your powers?" she asked.

"When I say I'm not a meta-human, it's the last part that I don't qualify for," he said in almost a whisper. He gave Lois a moment to puzzle out what he had just said.

"You're an _alien?_" Lois asked. Clark could hear in her voice that she wasn't doubting him; she just wanted to make sure she had jumped to the right conclusion. "You're not shacking up with me in hopes of eventually getting a green card are you?" Lois asked playfully. Lois saw the anguish in Clark's face and knew she needed to comfort her man. He may not have been human, but he was _her_ man. "As you know, Smallville, I've seen you in all of your naked glory and from what I remember, you have all the parts that a human male does. Well except in somewhat larger proportions I recall," Lois reminded him. She managed to get Clark to chuckle. "Clark Kent, I don't give a rat's ass what planet you're from," she said firmly. "You are mine, Smallville, and I'm never letting go of you, and if you ever forget that I'm going to kick your ass from here to the North Pole," Lois promised.

Clark wrapped his arms around her and held her in a tight embrace. He buried his face in her neck and she felt warm tears along with his silent sobs of relief. Lois gently lifted his chin and passionately kissed him. They felt the limo slow down and come to a stop. Lois gave Clark her best bedroom eyes and asked him, "Do I need to ask you up?" Lois felt a breeze and suddenly she was inside her apartment. Clark was holding her in his arms. He put her down gently. "I sort of planned ahead and set up some candles. Let me go find some matches real quick," Lois told him. Clark grinned and then slowly turned around, lighting several candles with his heat-vision. Lois blinked in astonishment and then smiled playfully. "It is going to be so useful having you as a boyfriend," she teased.

"Lois, you said 'boyfriend'," Clark pointed out.

"You have a problem with that, Smallville?" Lois challenged. She wiggled out of his embrace and slipped her shoes off. She found her IPod and put it onto the soft jazz playlist. She put the iPod into the stereo dock and when it started playing soft music she went back to Clark's embrace.

"Not a bit, I just like hearing you say it," Clark told her. He wanted her like he had never wanted Lana, but he would have to be patient. His secret had destroyed his relationship with Lana and he wanted Lois to have plenty of time to process things. "Well, I guess I'm ready for whatever questions you have, Lois," he told her.

"**_I can tell that he wants to fuck like bunnies, but he's scared I might freak out because of 'the secret'. That bitch Lana sure mentally abused him_**_," _Lois thought_. "__**Mental note: new top things on the to do list. 1) Help my lover regain his self-confidence and 2) kick that bitch's ass!**__" _she promised herself. Lois slid his uniform jacket off of his shoulders and tossed it onto the chair. "OK, Smallville first question," she said. "Are you going to be here in the morning?" she asked.

"Of course I am, Lois," Clark replied somewhat surprised.

"Are you going to change your mind about telling me all about yourself by then?" she went on.

Clark started to catch on. "No," he replied. He began to smile and held her closer as they slow danced to the music. Clark let his hand drift up to Lois' hair, brought her head to his, and kissed her. Their lips parted and their tongues slowly swirled around each other.

Lois broke the kiss and nodded her head. "I think you're getting the picture, Smallville," she sighed. Clark was the first to break the kiss. He traced a series of new kisses from her jaw to her earlobe. He continued his kissing expedition downwards, starting at her ear and moving to her shoulder. Lois tilted her head to the side to give him more access. While Clark held her head in one hand, he dropped the other one down to the split in the side of her dress. He reached between the dress and her leg to caress her smooth thigh. Lois moaned softly. Clark brought his mouth back up to Lois' at the same time as his hand slid around and grasped her butt cheek under her dress. Lois gasped into Clark's mouth as he picked her up slightly.

Lois put her hand on Clark's arm and gently removed his hand from under her dress. "How about we get me out this thing?" she offered. Clark had remembered the urges to use his super-speed when playing football, but they were nothing like what he was feeling now that Lois had suggested that. Lois took Clark by the hand and led him to the bed. She turned around and faced him. "I'm yours, Smallville, unwrap me," she said coyly.

"I'm so glad my Christmas has come early," Clark said. There was a pause as he and Lois both realized the possible double meaning and she looked down at the large bulge in his pants. "That's only a saying, Lois," he managed to say. He looked her in the eyes and saw her playful fire. Clark was the one to laugh first. Lois followed soon after. Clark took her in his arms. "I could never imagine laughing like that when I was about to have sex with Lana," he told her. The mention of her old rival's name cooled Lois' feelings. Clark went on, a huge smile on his face. "Only you could make me feel so comfortable. I love you, Lois," he told her.

Lois was shocked. She had longed to hear those words come from Clark's mouth for so long. Now here he was telling her. It wasn't like she had imagined it. She had always thought it would be after great sex or some romantic movie. Lois had imagined she would have to pull it out of the Boy Scout. This was definitely not on her playlist. Sure the part about the bedroom and the making out part was there, but the part where he stood in front of her beaming like a school boy, his heart wide open, was never part of her fantasies. Lois couldn't help herself. She began to cry. She threw her arms around Clark and whispered into his ear, "I love you too, you big doofus." When they kissed again, Lois noticed the difference. Just a few moments before, she had felt a passion fueled by lust and desire. Now she wanted her man because she needed to make love to him. She had never known this second feeling. Lois stepped back and looked at him with mock annoyance. "Ah hello, farm boy. You forgetting something? I'm still dressed!" she pointed out.

"We can't have that, Miss Lane," Clark replied. He reached up and brushed one of the shoulder straps of her dress aside. It fell along the side of her arm. Clark put his hand on her shoulder and gently caressed it. His hand moved to the front of her dress and freed her breast. He slowly circled her breast with his palm while dragging his thumb over her nipple. Without leaving that breast, Clark used his other hand to slide the other shoulder strap off. Lois's dress fell to the floor.

Clark stepped back to enjoy Lois and was amazed by her beauty. "Lois, I'm probably going to embarrass myself by saying this, but I have been fantasizing about you for the past year," he admitted. "I imagined you as looking like a goddess with your clothes off. Nothing my subconscious came up with even came close to how gorgeous you are," he said in hushed tones.

"**_If I weren't already going to fuck him, that would have sealed the deal_**_,"_ Lois thought happily. She rubbed her hands together. "My turn," she said and grabbed Clark, spinning him around so that his back was against the bed. She looked him over. "Where to begin, there are so many buttons," Lois pouted.

"Here, I'll help," Clark said. He pushed himself off the bed and stood with his feet shoulder width apart. He put both hands into the middle of his shirt where the two halves overlapped and paused for dramatic effect. Clark pulled to the sides, ripping the shirt open, popping buttons. Lois somehow knew that image (Clark standing tall in front of her with his shirt held open exposing his bare chest) would stay with her forever and keep her warm when Clark wasn't available. Lois was finally able to get her hands on his shirt and pull it out of his pants. She ran her hands up and down his smooth chest. Lois leaned over and bit one of his nipples. Clark closed his eyes and moaned. She started kissing his chest and stomach as she knelt in front of him. Lois undid Clark's belt and unzipped his fly. She massaged his manhood through his boxers. Clark ran his fingers through her silky hair. Lois hooked her thumbs under the waist bands of both his pants and his boxers and pulled them down. She helped him step out of them.

When Lois stayed on her knees, Clark looked a little uncomfortable. "Uh, Lois, what are you doing?" he asked.

Lois ran her hand up and down Clark's cock. "What's it look like I'm doing, Smallville?" she shot back. Lois started to lean forward to place a kiss on his large cock when she looked up at his face. He had another confused look in his eyes. Lois licked her lips as she realized she was about to give Clark something Lana had never given him. She stoked his balls as she kissed the head of his penis. Clark's look of surprise was priceless. Lois ran her tongue down his shaft and then back up to the top. She engulfed the head of cock with her mouth. "**_Taste like a human to me_**_," _Lois thought. Clark's knees buckled slightly. Lois pushed him back on the bed to keep him from falling over.

Lois crawled onto the bed and then on top of Clark. She bent down and kissed her man. Clark ran his hands up Lois' back. She arched her back, thrusting her breasts towards Clark. He pulled her down to him and took one of her nipples in his mouth. He suckled on it and swirled his tongue around the hardening nub. "Yeah, Smallville, like that," Lois moaned. Clark continued to suck and added a gentle nip every now and then. Each gentle bite brought a gasp of pleasure from her.

Lois felt Clark's hand slide between her legs and stroke her wetness. He slipped first one finger and then two inside her. He spread his hand out and brought his thumb into contact with her clit. Clark circled his thumb quickly and brought Lois to panting gasps. Lois couldn't take it anymore. She grabbed Clark's cock a placed it at the entrance to her pussy. Lois lowered herself onto him, his stiff cock filling her completely. She started to thrust against him while Clark lifted her by the hips. He easily supported all of her weight. Soon he had increased their pace beyond what she would have been able to do by herself. The increased speed pushed her over the edge quickly. She squeezed her muscles as she came and the sensation brought Clark with her. He emptied himself inside of her. Lois collapsed on her lover and blew a stand of hair out of her face. They kissed and Lois drew the covers up around them. She looked forward to falling asleep in Clark's arm.

"Smallville, can you take care of the candles?" Lois asked.

Clark kissed her on the cheek and said, "You bet, Lois." He swept the room with an under powered blast of super-breath. The candle flames went out and Lois cuddled into her boyfriend's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Lois was no stranger to nightmares. She was plagued by them ever since her mother Ella Lane had died. The only time she had a respite from them was when she had been living at the Kent farm. While staying in Clark's room (after forcing him onto the couch) she had experienced pleasant and on occasion, quite erotic dreams. Those dreams were always about Clark. Lois knew the subconscious could be kinky, but she kept wondering what hers had been trying to tell her when she dreamed about having sex with Clark in mid-air while he was wearing blue tights.

When she had moved out of the Kent home, the nightmares had returned with a vengeance. This time however, new ones were added to the mix. She dreamt she was on a cliff side. The roles were reversed in this dream and she was the one who could fly and Clark was the one who had to climb using his muscles. In the dream, Lois knew that it was important for not only Clark but everyone else that he make it to the top. Lois would watch him climb and then see the _monster_ cross the cliff side to attack him. The lower half of the creature was a huge, hideous black spider. The top half was Lana in all of her stunning beauty. The spider would weave its web and Clark would break be able to break free a couple of times, but in the end he would become ensnared. The Lana-spider would then make its way over to him and sink her fangs deep into his neck, draining his life away. Lois could only watch in horror as Clark died while the glowing green venom oozed from his wounds. Lois would wake up each morning with feelings of terror mixed with failure at not being able to save Clark.

After suffering through those dreams for awhile, Lois pilfered a couple of Clark's flannel shirts when she had stopped by to share in Martha's famous cooking. She had slept in the shirts at the farm and Lois hoped that by sleeping in them again she would be able to stave off the nightmares once again. Her plan worked for the most part. The shirts held off her regular nightmares and brought back some of the more entertaining, panty soaking dreams. The cliff side nightmare stuck around but was less intense in its horror when she awoke.

This had gone on until about 3 months before the USO dance when Lois had finally admitted to herself how she felt about "Smallville". Her nightmares changed. She started out by warning Clark, but he got caught in the web anyway. Later she tried to fight Lana, but either Lana was too quick or Clark would stop her saying she shouldn't take a life. While he talked to Lois, Lana would always attack him from behind and kill him. Lois was waking up in tears more often than not.

Everything changed when Chloe had asked her to go with them to the charity USO dance. Chloe had told her that Clark had agreed to come and that they could double date. Lois was determined to not let this opportunity get away and had enlisted Chloe's help in "Operation Smallville".

The night before the dance, Lois had the nightmare again. Clark was midway up the cliff side and Lois knew the Lana-spider would soon make an appearance. She was working through possible attack scenarios when a beautiful blonde woman appeared next to her. "Hello, Lois," the woman said. The other woman was floating in the air next to her. She was wearing a white outfit somewhere between a ceremonial robe and a gown. On the front of the gown was the stylized letter "S" that Clark had taken to wearing on his shirt as the Blur.

"Uh … Hi, you're new here," Lois said, not thinking of anything else to say.

The other woman noticed Lois looking at the shield emblem and smiled patiently at Lois. "Actually, I've been here all along. It's only now that you're ready to see me," she told Lois. "Let's cut to the chase shall we?" she suggested. "That little bitch will be crawling out of her hole any minute now," she stated. "You are right, you know. It is important to the future of this world and countless others that he makes it past this cliff, but that isn't why I'm here. I'm here because my son is trouble and you're the one person who can help him," the woman said. Lois nodded her head, ready to help Clark. "Tell me what happens when he tries to go it alone," the woman commanded.

Lois knew her answers would be important. "He can't get through. She kills him every time," she replied. The thought caused her to clench her fists in fury and frustration.

"You're right. He cannot survive on his own," the woman agreed. "What happens when you attack Lana?" she asked.

Tears filled Lois' eyes. "I fail. I can't stop her and she kills him," she sobbed.

"Correct again," the woman said. "Lois, neither one of you is living anywhere close to your true potential. The correct answer lies somewhere down there. Here she comes, better hurry," she told her. Lois saw the Lana-spider begin its assent. "One last thing, Lois. Remember to call him by the right name," the woman said with a hint of a smile. She faded out of view.

Lois thought about what the woman had said and tried to come up with a plan. The meaning of the pop quiz clicked in her mind and she swooped down to where Clark was climbing. She remembered what the woman had said, "Clark! The queen bitch is coming. We have to face her together or your spider kibble again," she screamed. Clark ignored her and kept climbing. The creature was getting closer. "Shit! Farm-boy, we need to get our act together," she yelled. There was no response from Clark. Lois looked over her shoulder and could clearly make out Lana's features. She thought back to the symbol the woman was wearing. "Blur! I need your help to get us out of here," she pleaded. Lana was almost on top of them. The spider bitch reared up, ready to strike. "God dammit, Smallville! Take my hand!" Lois screamed, ready to pull him off of the cliff.

Clark looked over at her and shot his hand out to take hers. "Lois?" was all he managed to get out before the Lana-spider bit down on the arm Clark was using to hold onto the cliff wall. Lois saw it all in slow motion. The terrible fangs that had taken her love's life so many times before shattered into a thousand pieces. Clark turned his head around to look at the creature that had been haunting her dreams and he let go of the cliff. Instead of falling, Clark was floating, just like Lois. He backhanded the beast off of the cliff and sent it tumbling into the abyss below.

They hung suspended in mid-air grinning at each other. "Thanks, Lois. I really needed that. So what do you want to do now," he asked with a sexy grin on his face.

Lois floated closer to him so that their lips almost touched. She whispered, "I can think of a few..."

The alarm clock buzzed and woke Lois up the morning before the big dance. She struggled to recall the details of her nightmare. For once, she couldn't remember any of the details. All she could recall was a feeling of being complete and the overwhelming need to make "Operation Smallville" a success.

Lois was in the borderland between sleep and wakefulness the morning after the USO dance. Normally, she didn't tarry there due to her nightmares, but this morning she was totally at peace. As she slowly swam up to full consciousness, Lois became aware of her senses. First, she smelled the odor she had come to associate with Clark Kent. She had realized it was that smell on his shirts that had helped her relax at night. Lois loved that smell and was happy that there was so much more of it this morning for some reason. The next sense she was aware of was that of her hearing. She heard the heavy, rhythmic breathing of someone in bed with her. Touch was the next sense to come online. Lois felt that someone was curled up next to her, his arm across her, cupping her breast. Judging by what was poking her in the back, he also had morning wood. Lois smiled. She didn't need to open her eyes as the memory of last night came back to her. She lowered her head and kissed his arm. "Good morning, Smallville," she whispered.

"Good morning, Lois," Clark answered. He kissed her shoulder gently. Lois noticed he had not let go of her breast.

Lois was quite happy with where his hand was so she kept her back to him. She stroked his arm gently. "I didn't mean to wake you," she said, kissing his arm again. She was rewarded by him gently kneading her breast.

"It's OK. I'm a real light sleeper, and since we're both up, I figured we could continue where we left off," Clark said in a husky voice. He blew softly on Lois' earlobe.

Lois reached behind her and grasped his very stiff cock. "You're up all right," she agreed. "You know, I can think of some uses for this thing, if you don't mind of course?" Lois asked politely.

"Oh please, be my guest," Clark said earnestly. Lois let go of his shaft and moved her top leg behind her, over Clark's top leg. She reached between her legs and grabbed his penis again. She put the head of his cock at the opening of her pussy. Clark didn't have to wait for an invitation. He thrust his hips forward and buried his shaft inside her. They both moaned at the same time. Lois enjoyed the fact that Clark didn't move at first. They just lay there drinking in the sensations of being together. Just as she was about to give him a gentle suggestion, Clark brought his hand down from her breast and began to slowly massage her clit. He didn't move his hips at all until he heard her start to breathe quicker. Clark rotated his hips and slowly pulled his cock almost all of the way out of her, keeping the same tempo on her clit the whole time. Clark thrust hard and deep into Lois and sped up the work his hand was doing. He slowed his fingers and slowly pulled almost all the way out.

Lois thought she was going to explode after a minute of the speed up - slow down rhythm Clark had established. He had brought her to the brink of orgasm several times only to have him slow even further down and hold her off. She took in a breath to scream at him when Clark put a hand over her mouth to silence her. "Customers have come in downstairs," he whispered. Lois looked back at him with a curious glint to her eyes. "Super-hearing," he explained. She nipped his hand so he would move it.

"Fuck me proper already or I'm making breakfast," she threatened.

Clark smiled and replied, "Well when you put it that way …" He pulled out and rolled Lois to her back. Clark put a hand on each thigh and gently raised her legs so they were bent at the knee. He lowered himself onto her and plunged deep within. Lois let out a yelp of pleasure earning her a look of reproach from Clark who then used his x-ray vision to see if anyone was looking up at the ceiling. No one was and he got back to pleasuring his woman. Lois grabbed his ass cheeks and demanded the tempo be set fast. Clark obliged and kept his thrusting quick and deep. Lois wrapped her legs around Clark's waist, drawing him that much deeper. Eventually all of the morning's build up cascaded over and Lois had the orgasm of her life. She couldn't help herself, it felt too good. Lois let out a deafening, "Oh god, Smallville! Yes! Yes!" Clark was overcome by her passion and came as well.

Clark was supporting his weight on his arms. He didn't dare use his x-ray vision now. He was too scared to find out what he would see. He mentally shrugged and then kissed Lois. "I guess this means I can make breakfast," he said happily.

Martha Kent had woken early to the sounds of the farm. She was lonely and decided to go into town for a coffee. When she pulled into the Talon parking lot, she saw the limo from last night parked across the street. "**_I wonder if they all crashed here last night? They must have come in pretty late,_**" she mused as she walked into the coffee house. Martha saw Clark's friend Bart Allen leaning on the far end of the counter flirting with one of the clerks. He was engrossed in the conversation and he didn't hear her walk up behind him. Martha ordered her coffee and listened in on the conversation.

"Bart, hello?" the clerk said as she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Sorry, I thought I heard something. My … uh … job makes me a little jumpy some times," he apologized. "You were saying," Bart said.

"I was saying thank you for these wonderful coffee beans you brought me this morning. I can't believe how fresh they are," the clerk stated. "Where did you get them?" she asked.

Bat did a little flourish with his hand and bowed. "For you my sweet, chica, I went all the way to Columbia," Bart said with a fake Spanish accent. Martha Kent rolled her eyes. She knew Bart was as fast as Clark and had probably done just as he said.

Martha tuned out the rest of the flirting, wistfully remembering the days when she and Jonathan had first started dating. When her coffee arrived, she picked it up and turned to go find a table. She hadn't taken but 2 steps when she and the rest of the coffee house heard, "Oh god, Smallville! Yes! Yes!" coming from above them.

Bart spun around, his head tilted upwards, looking at the ceiling. "That's my boy! Way to go Clark! Yeah!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist. Bart lowered his head and looked right into Martha Kent's shocked face. "Shiiiit," he said as if all of the air had been let out of him. "Ah … ah … hi, Mrs. K, how are you?" he tried lamely.

Martha blinked a few times and then shook her head. She smiled at Bart. "I'm fine, Bart. What are you doing here?" she asked, ignoring the outburst from the apartment upstairs.

Bart was turning as red as his hoodie. "Oliver loaned Clark and Lois one of his limos for the weekend. I'm doing driver duty this morning," he replied. "Those of us who are _close _to Clark decided to rotate through so he could feel like he could be himself," Bart explained.

"I'm glad he has friends like you guys," Martha stated warmly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to head back to the farm," she said. Martha thought for a moment. "Bart, go ahead and take the limo back to Metropolis. I'm pretty sure they won't be needing it," she suggested.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Clark stood in the middle of Lois' apartment kitchen trying to figure out what he could make them for breakfast using the odd ingredients he saw. He was extremely grateful he had taken Lois on her word and done what he had needed to keep her from making breakfast. He wasn't sure even _his_ stomach could handle coco-puffs and Coke, since she was out of milk. Inspiration hit him and he called Bart, since Victor had told him that Bart would be covering the morning limo shift.

The phone rang a couple of times and Bart answered timidly, "Hello, you've reached Impulse Courier Service. I … uh … can't come to phone right now … I'm delivering something, so leave your name and number after the beep," he lied. Clark could hear the noise of road travel in the background.

"Nice try, Bart. What's up?" Clark asked. "Sounds like you're driving. I thought you were our chauffer," he said.

"Sorry, Amigo. Something has … come up, and I need to head back to Metropolis," Bart replied. "Since you and I are the only ones who can make it there and back in _no_ time flat, I decided to take the limo with me. I didn't want to make Oliver have to send someone else out here to get it," Bart said, coming up with what he thought was a good excuse. What Bart thought was, "**And _I can't look at you and keep a straight face after being in the same room with your mom, while you and Lois made loud monkey sex right above us. I'll never be able to have coffee and a muffin with your mom again without thinking dirty thoughts_**." Bart's thoughts then began to drift off into wondering if Martha Kent was a cougar who liked short guys.

"Hey Bart, that's really considerate of you. My mom sure would be proud of how much you've matured since we first met," Clark said, having no idea what Bart was thinking. Bart almost ran the limo into a ditch. "Don't worry about us. We'll be fine for transportation. I told Lois about my secret and today I'm going to go into more detail about my powers and where I came from," he stated. Clark remembered Lois' earlier outburst. "Uh, Bart, you didn't happen to be in the Talon this morning were you?" he asked.

"Me? Nope. I was never there. I had the music up way loud in the limo so I couldn't hear a thing," Bart replied. "Hey, Clark traffic is getting kind of bad. I gotta go. I'll talk to you later," Bart lied and hung up. The image of Martha Kent's face while she heard Lois was still flashing before his eyes.

Clark hung up his cell phone. He started to wonder what Bart had meant by the comment about having the music up, when Lois walked into the kitchen, nude. He smiled at her and took her in his arms. "Who was that?" she asked.

"Bart. He had to head back to Metropolis, so our limo for the weekend is gone," Clark said. He saw her look of disappointment. "Lois, this is a good thing," he insisted. Clark tapped his chest. "The Blur, remember. I can carry you anywhere faster than you can imagine," he bragged. Clark looked around the kitchen. "How about we get dressed and I take you back to the farm. There I can make you a decent breakfast and we can tell my mom about us," he suggested.

Lois hesitated before speaking. "Do you think she will be OK with us?" she wondered. "She is the closest thing to mother I have and I want her approval more than anything," Lois admitted. She buried her head in his chest.

"Lois, she loves you. I love you. Looking back, I kind of get the feeling she was trying to steer me towards you the whole time," he said with sincerity. "I think she will be very happy. That is why I want her to be the first to now we are 'going steady'," Clark stated.

"You're right. Let me hit the bathroom and then get some clothes on. While I do that, why don't you get us some coffees from downstairs?" Lois suggested. Clark gulped and started looking for his pants. He had thought ahead and brought a change of clothes so he wouldn't have to wear the RAF uniform today.

Clark walked down the stairs wearing a pair of tan slacks and a light purple dress shirt. It was a change from his usual primary color scheme, but he had wanted to look nice for Lois in case he needed a change of clothes. Most of the customers from earlier had left. A few had stuck around just in case the stars of the "morning show" decided to make an appearance. Clark's super-hearing picked up a couple appreciative gasps when he stepped into the little café. Most of the high school aged waitresses were refusing to look in his direction, not trusting themselves. Clark made it up to the register and ordered two of Lois' favorite coffees to go. The girl taking his order didn't seem to realize who he was. Clark was thankful for small miracles. The clerk had finished taking his order when she was bumped into by one of the waitresses who handed her an order written on a slip of paper. The clerk read it and her head snapped up to look at Clark. He felt his cheeks flush when he caught her eyes glance up at the ceiling for an instant. She looked back at Clark and her eyes became huge; a hint of a smile playing on her lips. She turned her back to Clark and leaned forward slightly. Unfortunately for Clark's composure, he could see her face in the mirror behind the counter. He watched her slowly mouth the word "WOW" to her friend. Clark was sure he had turned an even bright shade of red.

The manager came up with his order and shooed the clerk away. He remembered her as being a year ahead of him in high school. "Sorry about that, Clark," she said.

"Um, earlier this morning …" he tried to get out.

"Oh, yeah. The whole place heard," she said nodding her head. "By showing your gorgeous face down here after that performance, I think you might have just caused a run on batteries in the local stores," she mused. "Here, these are on the house," she offered. The manager winked at him and handed him the coffees.

Clark thanked the manager for the coffees and started back to the stairs. He wanted to melt into the floor and it took all of his will power not to super-speed back up to the apartment. He somehow made it back inside to Lois without blowing his cover. Lois looked at his expression and guessed at what had happened. "Oops," was all she said. Lois was wearing a low cut, red button down shirt and a pair of tight jeans. She had the sleeves rolled up on the shirt to give it a casual appearance.

Clark looked at her and started to snicker. It turned into a chuckle, which turned into a full blown laugh. "Lois, it's my fault that I got embarrassed, not yours," he said.

"Damn straight, Boy Scout. Let's go, I'm hungry," she replied.

"All right. Usually I don't get to plan this out, so why don't you hold the coffees, and I'll hold you," Clark suggested. Lois took both coffees and hopped into Clark's arms. He was holding her as if she weighed nothing at all. "You should probably close your eyes. I don't want them to get wind burned," he said.

Lois closed her eyes and had the brief sensation of movement. It lasted for about 2 seconds. When she felt sun on her face Lois opened her eyes. They were in the driveway between the barn and the house at the Kent farm. Lois nodded her head and stated, "Not bad, Smallville." She cocked her head to the side and asked, "What's your distance range?"

"I have no idea. Bart and I raced around the equator once and I didn't get winded," Clark told her, shrugging his shoulders.

"Awesome! This is going to come in handy when it comes to vacation time. Think of the money we'll save on transportation costs," Lois stated happily. She paused before going on. "You said Bart, right? You mean the little blonde flirt who wears red more often than you do?" she asked.

"Yeah, he works with Oliver and AC. Come to think about it, most of my closest friends are on that team," Clark admitted.

"So you hang out with a group of 'super friends'," Lois paraphrased. "That explains why you're dating me," Lois told him. She leaned up and kissed him. "Let's head inside," she suggested.

Lois and Clark walked into the house hand and hand. They found Martha in the kitchen making breakfast. Clark made his way into the kitchen and gave his mother a hug. "I was up kinda early so I figured I would make breakfast," Martha told him. Lois looked at the table and saw three place settings.

Lois was amused until she saw a coffee cup from the Talon on the kitchen island. The cup was placed on the edge and was keeping a receipt from blowing away. "**_Oh no! No … No … No!_**_"_ Lois thought. She picked up the receipt and read the time and date. "**_Oh crap_**_," _was the only coherent thought she could make. Eventually, her mind cleared enough that she was able to make out the small talk between mother and son.

"So Clark how was your evening?" Martha asked.

"Great. We had a wonderful time at the dance and we …" Clark replied before he was interrupted.

"Clark!" Lois coughed. She nervously ran her hand through her hair. Martha looked at her sweetly. "There's that … thing you were going to show me outside before breakfast," she improvised.

"Right, Lois. We're going to talk about all of those things, but we can do it after breakfast," Clark said.

Lois closed her eyes and sighed. When she reopened them she said in a tone that left no room for discussion, "Smallville … outside … now!" Lois looked at Martha who was maintaining an expression of complete innocence. Lois smiled quickly at her, grabbed Clark by the arm, and dragged him outside. Before he could say anything she shoved the receipt in his hand. He looked down at it and carefully read it. When he looked back up at Lois, all of the color had drained from his face. Lois was worried he was going into full shock. Together they slowly turned their heads to look at the kitchen window where Martha was watching them. She smiled and waved. Lois and Clark automatically waved back. Martha held up the skillet to signify that breakfast was ready. Clark tilted his head forwards and rested his forehead against Lois'.

"I guess she already knows we're serious," Clark whispered. Lois chuckled and took his hand. They walked back into the farmhouse where Martha had set up the breakfast. When they had all sat down, Clark took a deep breath and looked at his mother. "Might as well make it official, Lois and I seeing each other, romantically," he said.

"What he is trying to say is that we love each other and we finally took the blinders off long enough to see it," Lois interjected.

Martha smiled at the two of them. "It's about time. As for anything that might have been heard this morning, I'm going to save that one to embarrass you two with my grandkids some day," Martha warned them. "Until then, let's all agree to NEVER talk about it again," she suggested. She was greeted by enthusiastic nods from both of Lois and Clark. Martha made eye contact with Clark, looking for some sign that he had told Lois about his secret. He had said that he wouldn't enter into a serious relationship with Lois without telling her, but Martha didn't want to say anything if he hadn't.

Lois watched the non-verbal interplay between mother and son. "Yes, Mrs. Kent, he told me about being an alien," Lois said. She reached across the table to hold Clark's hand. "I told him last night and I'll tell him as many times as he needs to hear it. I don't care what planet he is from. He's my Smallville, and I'm not letting him go," she promised.

Martha heard the obvious love in the words Lois had said. She looked at the young couple and started to cry. Lois looked worried. Martha scooted back from the table and made her way to Lois' chair. She wrapped her arms around the younger woman and kissed the top of her head. "Lois, stopping calling me 'Mrs. Kent'," she ordered. "To you, I'm Mom," Martha said. Lois returned the motherly hug, knowing she would always be part of this woman's family. Martha sat back down at her place and said, "Let's finish breakfast and then you two can head to the barn where Clark can fill you in on more details."

They finished breakfast and Lois offered to help with the dishes. Martha refused and ushered the couple outside. Clark led Lois up to the loft. "Where do you want me to start?" Clark asked.

"**_We can start on the desk and then move on to the couch … oh, I think he means about his history and powers_**_," _Lois thought. "How about where you're from? How much do you know about it?" she asked.

"I don't really know that much about it," Clark replied. "It was called Krypton. It was destroyed in a civil war the same day I was sent here. My mother and father sent me here to escape the destruction of the planet," he explained. "Those meteor rocks … they're fragments of my home planet," Clark said. "My father's name was Jor-El and my mother's name was Lara-El," he said.

"Oh, so your family name is El. Does that mean your real name is Clark El?" Lois asked.

Clark thought about it and then chuckled. "I actually never thought about it that way. Clark Kent is the name my folks gave me when they found me in the cornfield. The name my Kryptonian parents gave me was Kal-El," Clark said.

"Never thought I would be the type to be finding out a guy's first name the day _after_ great sex," Lois teased him. She looked him up and down and then cocked her head to one side. "You know, 'Kal-El' does sort of suit you, but if it's all right with you, I'm going to stick with Smallville," she told him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Clark replied. He then went on to discuss his powers and weaknesses.

They spent the morning in question and answer mode. Sometimes Lois' questions would help Clark get a firmer grasp on the concept himself. Other times, he had no answer for her questions and had her write them down so he could ask them to the Jor-El program in the Fortress. Lois had been shocked to hear that he had regular conversations with his dead father. She was less shocked to hear that the AI was something of a prick. "I guess our fathers have something in common at least," she quipped.

Martha came by the barn at around lunch time. She had her laptop in her hands. Clark had just finished discussing his relationship with his biological cousin, Kara. Clark heard the barn door open and he yelled down, "It's OK, we're decent." His super-hearing picked up Martha's relieved sigh.

"I just wanted to let you two know I was headed into town to have lunch with Chloe. I won't be back until around 6 or 7," Martha said. "I left some sandwiches in the fridge and if Clark drinks straight from the orange juice container, smack him please," she told them.

"Thanks … Mom," Lois and Clark said together. Martha laughed and got into her car. She drove off to Smallville.

Lois and Clark stood at the loft window and waved. They listened to the noise of the car as it got farther and farther away. They looked at each other and smiled. Clark ran his fingers through Lois' hair. "Do you want to head inside?" he asked.

Lois looked around the loft and spotted a couple of blankets. "Not if you dragged me, Smallville," she replied. "You have no idea how many fantasies I've had about us in this loft. It's time to try some of them out," she said as she licked her lips.

Clark grabbed Lois' hand and pressed it against the front of his pants. She felt his already sizable erection. "Trust me, Lois. I'm pretty familiar with fantasies involving you, me, and this loft," he told her. He drew her to him and they kissed. Their lips parted and their tongues slowly danced in and out of each other's mouths. While they were kissing, Lois untucked Clark's shirt. He returned the favor. Clark put his left hand underneath her shirt and let it rest on the small of her back for a moment. He then slid his hand around to her stomach where he traced a line downwards. He stopped at the waist band of her jeans. "Uh, oh … roadblock," he chuckled.

Clark took his hand out from underneath her shirt and unbuttoned her jeans. His hands reversed directions and unbuttoned her blouse. Clark saw she was wearing a red satin bra under her shirt. Much to his delight, the bra clasped in the front. Clark might have had super powers, but even he had a hard time figuring out how to suavely unclasp a bra from the back. He kissed her lips briefly and then stepped back. Clark let his hands graze lightly over the exposed flesh of her breasts before he undid the clasp. He slid his hands under the cups of the bra and felt the heavy softness of her breasts. Clark slid his arms around her and drew her into him once more for a kiss.

Lois' sensitive nipples rubbed against the fabric of Clark's dress shirt. She moved her chest slightly side to side to increase the friction. She was somewhat disappointed when Clark disengaged again. He brought up his right hand and traced a line from her lips, down her throat, and to the middle of her cleavage. He continued his movement down until he stopped again at her waist. This time he stopped at the zipper of her jeans. Clark knelt in front of her and unzipped her jeans. Lois put a hand on each of his shoulders to balance herself as he slid her jeans off of her. Clark was a little surprised to see that instead of matching red underwear, Lois was wearing a simple pair of dark blue, cotton panties. The blue material looked almost black from how wet it was at her entrance.

Lois gave Clark a conspiratorial wink and said, "I figured I would be going through a lot these with you around, so I tossed a few extra pair in my purse."

Clark smiled as he slid the soaked panties off of her. He then picked her up and sat her at the edge of the desk. Clark couldn't believe how erotic Lois looked right then, sitting on his desk wearing nothing but her shirt and bra, both of them open exposing everything to his touch. Clark knelt again and began kissing her legs at the knees. While he kissed her thigh, he slid first one finger and then two into her wet hole. Lois moaned and grabbed Clark's hair. She was amazed at how erotic it was to have Clark be doing this to her while he was completely dressed.

Lois was frustrated that Clark made his way with his mouth to her pussy with agonizing slowness, but she was eventually rewarded for her patience. He started lapping at her juices and exploring everything with his tongue. She soon found that one of his (and definitely now one of hers) favorite motions was to start with his tongue thrust as far deep as it would go in her pussy and then slowly draw it upwards and out. Clark would finish the motion with a quick flick of his tongue on her clit. Lois had to take her hands off of Clark's head and put them behind her to stabilize herself, her body shaking in ecstasy. Soon, Lois was bucking her hips into Clark's face. Clark responded by focusing his tongue on her clit and putting two fingers back inside of her. He sped up his tongue motion far faster than what a human man could do. Lois had to lean back on her elbows as her strength focused elsewhere. Not having to worry about anyone hearing, Lois tiled her head back and screamed as the first wave of the mind blowing orgasm hit her. She continued to thrust her hips into his face and rode out several more waves until finally they subsides to minor after-shocks.

Lois took a couple of deep breaths and then looked her lover in the eyes, her need fueling her. "Super-speed out of those clothes right now and get on that couch," she ordered. She blinked and both of them were completely naked. Their clothes (except for her wet panties) were folded neatly on the desk behind her. The blankets she had seen earlier were laid out on the couch and so was Clark. Lois ran to him. "Your mom will be back in 6 hours. Let's make them count," she suggested.

It was almost 6 O'clock and Lois was getting dressed in the loft. She had managed to get a new pair of panties, her bra, and the jeans on without too many distractions. She was putting on the shirt when Clark came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. She sighed and leaned back against him. He had only managed to get his slacks on. "Smallville, we really should either get dressed or get married so we don't worry about people catching us in the buff in our barn," she teased him.

"Lois Lane? Are you proposing to me?" Clark asked in a somewhat mock surprised voice. She hit his arm and then turned around to face him.

"No I'm not. I'm still very traditional when it comes to that, but what if I were?" Lois asked. "What would you say?" she asked. Lois looked into Clark's face, trying to read his reaction. She saw him thinking things through and then come to a decision. She was startled when he let go of her and walked away from her.

"Lois, there is something I need to show you," Clark said very seriously. He opened up a locked drawer on his desk and pulled out a small cube about 4 inches to a side. She saw that it was hinged at the top. Clark reverently opened the box and took out a small silver bracelet. In the center of the bracelet was aquamarine diamond. Etched into the stone was the same symbol that Clark was wearing as the Blur. She realized she had also seen the symbol in her dreams. Clark put the box down and held the bracelet in his hand. "Lois, this is from my home world. It is very old. Somehow it made its way to Earth and into the hands of the Kawache tribe," he told her. "They have an ancient tribal legend about me that says only my soulmate, the one I am destined to share my life with should wear this," he explained.

Clark looked down at the bracelet in his hand and took a deep breath. He took her right hand and went down on one knee. Lois covered her mouth with her other hand. Clark closed his eyes for a second and then looked into the eyes of the woman he loved. She had taken her left hand away from her face and was smiling. "Lois Lane, will you be my soulmate? Will you marry me?" he asked with all of his heart.

Lois knelt in front of Clark and held his hands in hers. "Yes, my wonderful Smallville. I will be your soulmate and your wife, but you have to do the cooking," she answered him, tears streaming down her cheeks. She leaned forward and kissed her future husband. Clark slipped the bracelet around her wrist. The two ends suddenly flowed together like living metal. The gem flashed a brilliant blue and then subsided. "Was that supposed to happen?" Lois asked.

Clark shrugged his shoulders. "I always thought it was just a piece of metal. I didn't know it would actually react to you," he said. At that moment Clark heard the crystal chime that told him he was being summoned to the Fortress. "Dammit, not now!" he swore.

"What's wrong?" Lois asked.

"The fortress I told you about, it just called me and told me that I need to come right away," Clark replied. Lois raised her eyebrow. "It sends out a tone that only I can hear," he explained.

"Kinda of a 'C sharp' type of note - like the kind you get by running your finger around the rim of nice crystal glassware?" Lois asked him. She had heard the same tone just a moment ago. They both looked down at the bracelet which was now softly glowing. "I guess I got an invite as well," she said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Lois and Clark both looked down at the glowing blue crystal in the silver bracelet he had just given her. "Where did you say this fortress was again?" Lois asked him.

"Near the North Pole," Clark replied absent mindedly. He couldn't take his eyes off of the bracelet. "Lois, I'm not sure you should go. Every time a human has gone to the Fortress, Jor-El has made it bad for them," he told her. "The bracelet must be telling him that I have found the woman that I have chosen to be my wife. He probably isn't too happy that you're human. I think he would rather I was monk," Clark complained. "Tell you what, I'll go there and tell him where to go stick his control crystal and be back before you know it. I don't want him anywhere near you," he said angrily.

Lois _felt_ something from the bracelet that she knew was impossible to describe to Clark. "Something tells me it's going to be ok," she said. "Smallville, as long as we are together we can face anything. Besides, I'm not starting our relationship hiding from the AI of your dead father," she told him. Lois looked around for her shirt and put it on. She pulled her hair out of the collar. Clark leaned against the support beam and smiled at her. "What?" she asked.

Clark's smile widened. "It's amazing how many of those little things you do that I just love to watch; like you flipping your hair like that or how you storm into a room when you have a hot lead. I know this sounds crazy Lois, but I even love how you always put that same coffee mug down exactly 4 inches to the left of your computer monitor," Clark said.

Lois blushed and ran her hand down Clark's chest. "_**I love how that some farm boy magically makes that mug appear on my desk every morning, cleaner than a surgical ward,**__" _Lois thought. She was getting a little embarrassed from his compliments. Lois decided to change the subject, "Smallville, something _is_ bothering me about our upcoming visit to the Arctic North. I know you can run there, but you told me that Kara and other people from your planet can fly. Why don't you?" she asked. "You said that you could when you where 'Kal'," she reminded him.

Clark stood there in nothing but his slacks, his shirt in his hands. He had thought about that question a lot. "Kara told me flight has something to do with confidence in one's self. When I asked her what to do after you gain confidence, she just looked at me funny. She told me you just … flew," Clark tried to explain.

"So for you to fly, you just have to believe in yourself?" Lois asked in disbelief. She walked behind Clark and smacked him in the back of the head. "OK, try it now," she said.

Clark got a case of the giggles. "All right, Lois," he chuckled. Clark stood with his hands on his hips and looked suavely at her. He gave her a sexy wink that gave her the giggles. He looked up at the ceiling and dramatically said, "FLY … aarrrrrghhhhh!" The last bit was cut off as he rocketed through the roof of the barn faster than the speed of sound. Lois stepped under the hole and looked up into the sky, unable to see any trace of Clark other than his pants which had gotten snagged on a jagged beam. Lois saw his boxers were still on his desk and wondered if this was the last time Clark was going to try going commando.

"OOoooohhhh … shiiiiiiiiiiittttttt," Clark screamed as he tore through the atmosphere at hyper-sonic speeds. He sensed rather than saw the business jet that was rapidly approaching. Clark shifted his awareness into hyper-speed and made the instinctive maneuvers necessary to avoid ramming through the wing. He took the opportunity to catch his breath and grabbed a hold of the cabin door for support.

Tess Mercer sat in the Queen Corporation jet and downed her 5th shot of tequila. The business deal in Japan had gone off all right, but her sources had told her that Clark had been seen kissing that infuriating reporter, Lois Lane, at a charity dance. She had thrown away her chance with Oliver to be with Clark who had made it clear that he wasn't interested in her. "_**Oh, well**__,"_ she thought, "_**At least I can fantasize about that alien stud.**__"_ Tess glanced out her window and saw a nude Clark Kent hanging on to the side of the plane. Their eyes met for a moment. Tess looked straight ahead of her, rubbed her eyes, and then back out the window. When she looked back, there was nothing on the side of the plane. The steward came by and started to pour another shot. Tess put her hand over the shot glass. "Thanks, I think I've had enough," Tess told him.

Clark had regained his bearings and let go of the plane. He free fell and obtained terminal velocity. He willed himself to go faster and to the left. As he rocketed downward, he again broke the sound barrier. He thought right and moved right. Clark thought up and shot up wards. His body moved to his every thought, defying the "laws" of gravity. Clark looked down and was grateful for taking the time to study satellite maps of the US. He shot back home and landed through the same hole he had made.

As soon as Clark landed, Lois rushed to him and threw her arms around him. "Thank god, you're safe. I didn't think smacking you on the head would actually work. I'm sorry," Lois rambled. She let go of him to look him over.

"Lois, relax. It wasn't the head smack that did anything. It was you believing in me that gave me the strength to believe in myself. It was amazing, Lois," Clark said.

"If you say 'better than sex' I'm leaving you," Lois warned.

"Not even in the same galaxy, Lois," Clark said as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. He passionately kissed her. Lois felt and saw his excitement rise. The crystal tone rang again while her crystal illuminated the interior of the loft.

Lois sighed deeply. "Go get some clothes on. It doesn't look like we will be getting any peace until _we_ answer these pages," Lois said. She walked past Clark and patted Clark, Jr. as she did. Clark super-sped off to the farm house and returned a moment later in his favorite jeans, blue tee shirt, and red denim jacket.

He had a large women's parka in his hand. "I took my mom to the Fortress once," he explained as he handed the coat to Lois. "Until I get a little more experience with the flight thing, I think I should run," he said. Lois nodded enthusiastically. She had no plans on showing up at the Fortress a charred hunk of reentry debris. Clark picked Lois up. "Whatever Jor-El says, I love you and he can't keep us apart," he told her.

Lois clenched and then unclenched her fist. "Let him try, Smallville. I doubt he has ever faced anybody like Lois Lane," she said menacingly. Clark kissed her cheek as she closed her eyes in preparation for the journey north.

**(Earlier that day)**

Martha Kent sat at the restaurant table with Chloe. Martha had insisted they eat somewhere other than the Talon. She wasn't sure he was ready to face that place so soon after the morning outburst. Martha had her laptop open and was showing Chloe the pictures she had taken the night of the charity USO dance.

Chloe was happily browsing through photos when she saw that one of the files had been renamed already. Instead of a numerical sequence, this one was named "Family". Chloe clicked on it to bring it up to full screen size. She looked over at Martha, a question on her face. The photo was the one where Martha had posed them with her in her yellow dress suit and Lois in her red dress sitting in front of the boys in their royal blue RAF uniforms. Martha looked around to make sure they weren't being ease dropped on. "At first I didn't realize what I had done when I posed you guys like that. Normally I would have had each couple standing side by side, but my subconscious had me frame this shot like this," she explained. "When I saw the picture, I just knew I had to name it 'Family'," Martha stated. Chloe still looked confused. "Chloe, you've been to Clark's _Northern retreat_ more often than I have. What does this picture remind you of?" Martha asked.

Chloe looked at the picture again and tried to think about what she had seen in the Fortress. All of sudden it hit her. On one wall in the huge, white palace was a singular area of color. It was a blue pentagon shield with a smaller yellow pentagon in the center. The pentagon was outlined in red and there was a stylized letter "S" in the same color in the center of the shield, touching each side of the yellow pentagon. "The shield," Chloe murmured.

"I used to hate that thing, thinking of it as a symbol of Jor-el," Martha admitted. "But now, seeing the four of you together, something changed," she said. "Do you know what that shield is?" she inquired. Chloe shook her head no. "It is equivalent of Clark's family crest, his family name," she stated. "Clark is no longer my little boy, Chloe. That symbol no longer belongs to Jor-El in my mind. It belongs to Clark's now," Martha said proudly. Tears had started to form at the corners of her eyes. Like mothers had known for countless generations before her, Martha knew that one day her son would have to shoulder the responsibilities of being a man. Her son had to do it for 2 worlds. Chloe reached over and held Martha's hand. "Chloe, you and Oliver are not related to him by blood, but you are family, to him and me. Never forget that," Martha told the younger woman.

Lois opened her eyes to the harsh glare of the Northern sun. In front of her about a mile off was an amazing structure made of huge crystals that looked like they had grown straight out of the ice. The sunlight refracted through the crystals causing thousands of rainbows to dance around the base of the structure. Lois could feel the tension Clark was putting off. She remembered how he told her that the Fortress was created when he threw the primary control crystal into the ice. The alien technology then used the blueprints provided by his father prior to his death to build the structure. Lois reached over and grabbed Clark's hand. Even though she was completely in awe of the alien building in front of her, she decided to try to put Clark at ease a bit. She nodded her head in an exaggerated fashion and said, "It's sort of … ostentatious." This drew an appreciative chuckle from Clark. "Come on, let's get this over with," she suggested.

Clark picked her up again and Lois instantly found herself inside the building. The interior of the fortress was completely white. The supports that reached high into the sky above them were made from huge crystals. In the center of the room was what looked some sort of cross between a geode and a pipe-organ.

"Hello, Kal-El," said a pleasant feminine voice that came from everywhere in the room. "Welcome, Lois," she asked.

Clark took a defensive stance. Lois watched him and spun around to put her back to his. She also took up a fighting stance. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your dad has a really girly sounding voice," Lois said. She scanned the room, keeping her eyes moving, looking for an attack.

Clark spared an instant to glance behind him, giving Lois a dirty look. "That's not Jor-El," he told her.

"You're right, my son. I put him on hold for a while. He's a little cranky about it, but I don't give a damn," the woman's voice said. "I've wanted to talk to you for so long and thanks to Lois, I finally can," she said.

The voice triggered a memory in Lois. She vaguely remembered the voice from her recent dream. Lois's stance relaxed. She reached out and again took her lover's hand. Clark took the clue and no longer stood like he was ready for a fight. His grip on Lois' hand tightened slightly and she heard him whisper, "Mother?"

A hologram shimmered into existence in front of them. A slightly translucent woman wearing a white robe with the family crest of El was now smiling at them. Her blonde hair seemed to gently blow in a wind that existed only for her. "Yes, Kal, or least an AI programmed to respond like her," the Lara AI replied. She turned to face Lois. "My name is Lara-El, and I was Kal's mother. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that he has found someone as strong and caring as you are who can be my his equal," she told her. Lois started to blush. The hologram of Lara held her hand to her mouth and did an aside to Clark, loud enough for Lois to hear, "Of course Kal, it never hurts that she happens to be beautiful as well." This caused Lois to blush even more and Clark to smile for a moment.

Clark's smile faded. "Forgive me for being suspicious, but you aren't acting at all like a Kryptonian AI," he said, even though he very much wanted to believe this was a representation of his mother. "If you are who you say you are; why are you only contacting me now?" Clark asked.

"I will answer those questions," boomed Jor-El's voice arrogantly.

"Oh, there's the prick," Lois muttered.

The hologram snickered. "He can get that way," Lara confided.

Jor-El decided to ignore them. "The Lara-El partner AI routine could not be activated until certain parameters had been met," he explained. "Now that those conditions have been met, her program is free to run. She is an original program sent with your ship. She is operating with an emotion replication sub-routine that was deemed unnecessary for my AI," Jor-El stated.

Lara rolled her eyes. "Excuse me; do you want me to stick you back in the virtual memory buffer again?" Lara asked.

"No … that would limit my effectiveness," Jor-el said hesitantly. Clark's head was reeling. His dead parents were having an argument.

"Lois, you putting on the bracelet and accepting your role as Kal's soulmate allowed my program to become active. Just as the Jor-El AI is a training aid for Kal, I was designed to be a training aid for you," Lara explained.

Lois became nervous. "Train me for what?" she asked. Lois tightened her grip on Clark's hand.

Lara smiled warmly at Lois. "Your destiny," she replied simply. "I think to best explain this I should give you both a brief history lesson in regards to how Kryptonian society was set up," Lara said. "For as long as we had written history, our people banded together in houses to help them survive," she said. "The closest Earth analogy would be the Clans of Scotland. As we grew in technology and power, the clans made war on each other," Lara told them. "Eventually, things settled down so that there were 5 great houses with numerous sub-houses under them. The 5 houses formed a ruling government, of which the yellow pentagon symbol is a representation of," she stated. The hologram pointed to a wall where a large blue shield with a yellow pentagon bordered in red in the center of it hung. Lois recognized the "S" symbol in the center of the yellow pentagon. "Each of the great houses has a symbol that can be displayed inside the yellow field. A sub-house would be a smaller symbol next to the larger one," Lara continued.

Clark looked at the shield. "I always wanted to now. Why do we have 2 house symbols?" he inquired.

Lara's face brightened with pride. "Before the forming of the council, our people were tearing themselves apart. It took the alliance of the two greatest houses, Zod and El, to conquer the rest and force peace upon them," she replied. "The two leaders conferred and tried to come up with a way to make the peace last. The head of the House of Zod insisted that his friend Kal-El (yes, you were named after him) take up the mantle of king," Lara explained. "He refused and instead came up with the idea of sharing the power with the heads of the 5 Houses equally so that no one person would have absolute power," she stated. "This impressed Coref-Zod so much that he designed a second symbol for El, one that touches each of the five sides of the pentagon. That symbol was meant to convey wisdom and selflessness, the traits of a hero," she explained. "I have always preferred the second symbol for the House of El myself," she said with twinkling eyes. A second hologram appeared on a wall briefly showing Clark saving a family from a robber. Clark was dressed in his black "Blur" clothes, the "S" symbol clearly showing on the front of his shirt.

The hologram made a show of taking in a breath which amused Clark and Lois. "Anyway, the houses are run by their respective heads, which then pass that responsibility down to their first born child," Lara said. "Jor-El and I were the last heads of the House of El. As our only heir, the responsibility of house leadership now falls to you," she told them.

Lois raised her hand as if in a press conference. Like she did in most press conferences, she didn't wait to be called on, "What happens if the first born is a girl?" she asked.

Lara's face took on a confused look. She cocked her head to the side. "What would that have to do with anything? You of all people should know that women can make the best leaders, Lois," Lara said. "Jor's mother was the previous head of the house and was quite the business woman," she stated. The hologram looked pointedly at the control column in the center of the room. "Her only flaw was that she might have been able to install more common sense into her sons," she sighed.

"_**Oh wow, my dead soon-to-be mother law rocks**__," _Lois thought. She mentally checked her grammar and nodded in satisfaction.

"Bear with me for a moment longer, Lois, and this will all start to make some sense," Lara said. "One of our beliefs is that we can never reach our full potential without our soulmate," she stated. "In order to lead, the head of a house cannot assume their title until they have formed their bond with their soulmate. The title of Head of House belongs to both partners in that pairing," she explained. "The bracelet you now wear informed the Fortress of your bond. My role is to train you to be his other half, the other head of the House of El," Lara told her.

Lois looked at Clark and smiled. "It's kinda cute. They're asking me to be your alien princess," she said. She put her arm around his waist. This snapped Clark out of the partial shock he was in over hearing his mother's voice after so long. Lois looked at Lara. "So what do we do now?" she asked.

"Normally, the two of you would come forward and accept the raiments of leadership, but as it is, only Jor's made it intact. I'm having the Fortress' equipment create something for you, Lois, but it will take a few days," Lara admitted. "The outfits aren't made out of cloth, but something similar to what you would call nano-machines. They take a psychic reading of their new owner and adjust to fit them," Lara explained.

A crystal the size of a phone booth rose out of the floor in front of Lara. Inside was a long blue robe with the "S" shield on the center of the chest. The robe would hang to the floor if Clark wore it. A red cloak hung from the shoulders. "_**Damn that is ugly**__,"_ Lois thought. "Sorry Smallville, but you are not allowed to leave the premise dressed like that. A woman has to have her standards," she teased.

Lara ignored her future daughter-in-law's statement on what the raiment had said about her husband's psyche. Lara wished she could take the hands of the young couple that stood before her. She had to settle for a smile and began the litany for the swearing in of the new heads of house. "Kal-El you have found your soulmate and are now ready to take up the responsibilities for the head of one the five Great Houses of Krypton," she intoned. "Lois Lane, you have found your soulmate in my son and are now ready to join him in the duty of running one of the five Great Houses of Krypton," she stated formally. "Do you both accept this challenge knowingly and willingly for the good of the House of El?" she inquired.

The young couple, who were still holding hands, looked into each other's eyes. They replied to Lara-El in unison, "We do."

"Kal-El, step forward and take your raiment of duty," Lara said solemnly. Clark let go of Lois' hand and walked towards the blue robe as the crystal opened for him. Before he stepped inside, he looked over his shoulder and gave Lois a wink. Lois made a face at him to say she still thought the robe was hideous.

The instant Clark touched the raiment, the door slid shut and the crystal turned an opaque blue, hiding him from sight. The Fortress began humming and the crystal Clark was in began to glow. Soon the Fortress was alive with a sea of sound as crystal after crystal rang out with a different tone. Lois became frightened for Clark and ran towards where he was encased. Lara calmed her by saying, "Lois, don't worry. The Fortress is acknowledging Kal as its master. The sounds you here are a form of celebration."

Lois turned around slowly in awe as she realized the whole building was somehow alive. Her back was turned to Clark when he emerged from the crystal. Lois noticed the lack of the glowing light and turned around. She leaned against a nearby column for support. "So what do think?" Clark asked.

"_**Wow**__!"_ was the first thought to come to Lois' mind. Clark was standing in front of her in a form fitting, blue body suit and red boots that showed off every gorgeous muscle. The "S" shield was prominent in the middle of his chest. The cloak had transformed into a flowing cape with the "S" shield on the back. Lois noticed that the body suit was so form fitting, that his nether regions had been covered by a red bikini like thing to give him some semblance of privacy. To Lois' mind this only increased the sex appeal of his new outfit. "Ok, Smallville, _that_ I will let you be seen in public in," Lois stated. She walked around him drinking him in with her eyes. "At least you don't have to worry about anyone guessing your secret identity anymore," she teased. Lois walked over and ran her hand over Clark's flat stomach and down to his hips. "No one will be looking at your face while you're wearing this," she said while smacking his bottom.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Princess Diana of Themyscira had arrived in Manaus, Brazil a few weeks ago after her sisters on the island received intel on a sex slave ring being run there. Whoever was behind the snatching of young women was being careful and hiding their headquarters with unusual skill. Diana had researched the pattern of kidnappings and had been able to track down one of the lower level flunkies and had used her lasso of truth on him. He didn't know where the main compound was, but he did know that their leader was going trolling for a new victim the next day. He gave her his favorite hunting ground and a good description of the leader. Diana rendered her captive unconscious and used the lasso to remove any memory of her from his mind.

Diana chose a table near the back of the cafe to get a clear view of the doors. She fretted over her choice in clothes and tactics. She was dressed in a dark brown, leather mini-skirt and a loose fitting, white linen long sleeve blouse. The linen was for the humidity. The long sleeves were to hide her bracelets. The blouse was a perfect contrast for her eternally tanned skin. She drew the line at her shoes and wore sandals that she could fight in. It wasn't how she normally dressed, but she had to admit she did look nice. "_**No Diana**_," she thought to herself, "_**It's not the clothes that bothering you, it's your plan.**_" Diana had decided that the best way to shut down the sex slave ring was to hit it from the inside. Her plan was to convince the slaver that she was valuable property worth taking. She just wasn't sure she was able to pull off weak and submissive.

Even though she was at heart a humble person, Diana looked around the cafe at the other women and thought there would be no problem attracting his attention. There were bonuses to having Aphrodite mold your beauty out of clay herself. Diana's confidence in being his only target faded away when SHE walked into the cafe.

"_**Oh Hera, she's beautiful!**_" Diana thought about the young, blonde American woman who had just walked in. The fact that she was from the U.S.A. was obvious in how she was dressed. She was wearing a tight pair of blue jeans, western boots, and an oversized button down, flannel shirt. The shirt was tied off in knot at the side to show a hint of toned midriff. The woman's hair was done up in a pony-tail. Diana instantly thought Midwest, probably somewhere like Kansas. The woman had sapphire blue eyes that twinkled in amusement. She looked like she was barely over 21 years old. Diana thought the young woman must be on some school trip and excited to be away from home for the first time. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about the blonde American was pulling her to her like iron filings to a loadstone. It wasn't just that she was very attractive; there was something else below the surface. Diana's musings were abruptly cut off when the slaver sat down next to the young, blonde woman and started chatting her up. "Shit!" Diana swore under her breath.

Kara-Zor-El, or Kara Kent as she was now known thanks to her "baby" cousin, had walked into the cafe Chloe had told her about. The JLA had gotten word of some human trafficking that had its origins in Brazil. J'onn had mind whammied some guy the day before that gave them the information they needed. Their captive's mind then seemed to break as he started babbling about thanking J'onn for not using a lasso on him. Their intel reports said the slave ring was heavily armed and had several women already in captivity in their compound. They called Kara and asked for her assistance, knowing she was almost as tough to destroy as her cousin Clark. Oliver had joked about calling Clark first, but decided against it saying he looked awful in drag.

Kara had chosen her outfit to scream Midwest girl. She figured that it would be something exotic down here. The extra clothing made no difference to her level of comfort, her Kryptonian heritage making her impervious to extremes in heat and cold. Kal sometimes had to remind her to throw something on when she went outside in winter when she wore just a tank top and shorts. She chose the table in the center to ensure the slaver would see her as soon as he came in.

Kara quickly looked around the room as she pretended to enjoy the alcoholic drink she had ordered. Like Kal, her alien physiology made it so that alcohol had no effect on her. As far as she knew, the only thing that could get her drunk would be the liquor "Phantom Zone" that had been bottled by her family's breweries. She wasn't aware of any that had survived the destruction of Krypton. As she looked around, she noticed the attractive brunette in a corner wearing a linen peasant blouse. The woman had intensity to her brown eyes that took Kara's breath away. Any further thought of the woman who would stand out in a crowd of millions was pushed aside as the slaver took a seat next to Kara.

"Let me welcome you to the Southern Hemisphere, my dear," the slaver said, putting on his most charming smile. He was blonde like Kara, in his late 30s, and dressed in a casual business suit with no tie. He was handsome and Kara could see how his good looks and Portuguese accent would disarm most women.

"Thank you," Kara replied, working on keeping her smile warm. "Everyone here has been so nice to me," she said.

"What brings such a lovely creature like you to bless us down here?" he asked.

"I'm here on a student exchange program. My classes start next month. I thought I would do some sightseeing before then," Kara said.

"All alone?" the slaver asked, his tone one of shocked dismay.

Kara pouted and said, "Hey! I'm 22. I can take care of myself." She hoped she had put enough doubt into her voice to make her acting convincing.

"I am sorry to say that even in our wonderful city there are people who couldn't resist taking advantage of such a beautiful young woman such as you," the slaver said sincerely. "I have taken the day off from my medical practice and would think of it as my civic duty if you would allow me to escort you today," he said with a flourish and a bow.

"_**Wow, this guy couldn't be more full of shit if he were Ben Hubbard's field during field fertilization time**_," Kara thought. "I guess I'll be safe with a doctor," Kara said biting her lower lip. "You didn't by any chance happen to bring a car did you? I'm exhausted from walking in this weather. How do you folks put up with this humidity?" she asked.

"My car is parked right outside," the slaver said, his grin slipping into a predatory smile that Kara pretended to ignore. "Why don't we start your tour now? My car has air conditioning," he said.

Kara stood up and took the hand the man offered. He led her outside to a gray luxury car that was already running. The driver got out and opened the door for Kara. While she got in, she caught a brief glance of the beautiful brunette woman getting up from her table in a hurry and heading to the door. Kara smiled sweetly at the slaver as he joined her in the backseat. Her x-ray vision told her he had a gun stashed next to him under the seat. She relaxed and watched the scenery as they pulled away from the cafe.

Diana made it out of the café to see the car speed off down the street. It had a several block lead on her. She cursed herself for letting her lust cloud her mind. "_**Athena, please let me get to that girl in time**__," _Diana prayed as she ran after the car, running faster than any mortal woman was capable of. Though she could fly, there were too many planes flying overhead not to notice her. She dodged several cars and jumped over a bus to keep the slaver's gray car in sight. When it slowed down she realized they had come to the docks area near the Amazon River. The car drove through a large, plate metal gate that shut tight behind it. Diana slid to a stop in the shadows across the street from the compound and started to form a plan of attack. She looked at the wall surrounding the place and saw several guards equally spaced walking along the top, carrying automatic weapons.

Diana's thoughts were stopped when she heard the sounds of a disturbance coming from inside the compound. Soon after, she heard the unmistakable sound of automatic gunfire coming from behind the gate. The guards along the wall turned their backs to the street and began to fire into the compound. Diana decided that a frontal assault had become the best option. She ran across the street and used the strength she had been blessed with by Hercules. She kicked the heavy steal gates in, sending them sailing into the center of the courtyard. One of the heavy gates barely sailed over the head of the young blonde woman from the café. The same girl who was standing in the middle of the courtyard looking like she was having the time of her life. The blonde woman looked over at Diana, smiled, and waved a cheery hello. Diana's heart froze as the woman waved.

A guard had taken advantage of the young woman's distraction and opened up on her, point blank, with his machine gun. Diana knew there was no way she could reach the girl in time to save her. Diana watched, unable to look away. The guard held down the trigger and emptied the magazine. Diana and the guard had matching looks of shock as the bullets simply shattered against the perky blonde. Unfortunately for the guard, the bullets did appear to gain the attention of the American girl. She turned and strode casually towards the guard. The blonde put one hand on her hip and held the other one out in front of her. The guard glanced from her smiling face to her hand and then back again. He handed her his empty machine gun. The blonde woman patted him on the top of his head with her free hand like she would an obedient pet. Diana watched again in amazement as the woman first twisted and then tore the gun into 2 pieces.

Kara wasn't sure why she was showing off for the beautiful brunette from the café, but the fact that she had followed her here and kicked the crap out the gates made her interesting to say the least. A guard that Kara had not seen fired his weapon at the tanned woman who shifted into super speed and deflected the bullets with the bracelets on her wrists. The tanned beauty then ran over and punched the guard with what Kara assumed to be a small fraction of her true strength. The guard flew through a wall. The women proceeded like this for a couple of minutes plowing through the slavers like a scythe through wheat. Soon, they had herded up the slavers into the center of the courtyard. The leader of the group couldn't stop whimmpering. "I'm going to go release the women these shitheads captured," Kara said. "You mind keeping an eye on them?" she asked Diana.

"Not at all," Diana said with a vicious grin aimed at their captives. "I'm Diana Prince by the way," she stated as she held out her hand.

"Kara Kent," Kara said as she shook Diana's hand. She went off in search of the women captives.

Diana walked over to the slave leader. "You are a troublesome little man. Your genes should not be sent onto future generations. I will do something about that," she said coldly. Diana kicked him squarely in the groin, rupturing both testicles. Kara came back leading the other women. Diana pointed to the slaver leader. "This one will be needing a hospital," she stated.

Once the women captives were safely away, Diana and Kara laughed about how easily the slavers had fallen to the "weaker" sex. They were both interested in getting to know each other better so Diana suggested that they meet later at a night club on the other side of town.

"Great, but I need to change first," Kara said. She winked at Diana and leapt into the sky, taking flight. Diana leapt into the air as well to freshen up before meeting again with this amazing young woman.

Diana had arrived at the club early. She was excited to see Kara again. The girl had not only been magnificent in battle, but gentle and kind to the women who had been taken by the slavers. Diana was surprised that her sisters had not heard of a female meta-human with such extreme powers before this. They were going to be sick with envy in the intelligence group when she told them about her. "_**If only**_...," she let her mind wonder to more carnal thoughts, "_**But what are the chances a girl raised in the Midwest is interested in women that way?**__" _As if summoned by her desires, Kara just walked into the night club. _"__**Oh, Hera! Look at her, I know I am interested in her!**_" Diana thought.

Kara had taken the time to change her clothes. Her outfit still had a Midwest feel, but there was no chance anyone would think she was an "innocent" farm girl. Kara's top was comprised of a white tube top that started at the top of her breasts and stopped a few inches above her navel. She wore a red, cropped half jacket that only covered her shoulders. Kara had chosen to wear a pair of extremely short denim shorts with a red leather belt. She topped off the look with a pair of matching red boots. Kara had let her hair down and Diana was pleased to see it fell well past her shoulders. Diana drank all of this in an instant. Kara saw her and waved, her blue eyes twinning. "_**Aphrodite, let her at least be bi-sexual**_," Diana whispered a silent prayer to one of her mothers. She had no idea Aphrodite and Athena were watching at that very moment, pleased about the visitor from Krypton who come into their daughter's life.

"Hi, Diana," Kara said when she got to the table Diana had claimed. Diana grinned at how Kara moved with the energy that only early 20 something year olds seem to posses. "This looks like a great club. The music sounds great, but it's not so loud that you can't hear the person your with," Kara said. She titled her head to listen to the beginning of a song. "I love this song! Come on, let's get out there and dance!" Kara begged. She grabbed Diana by the hand and pulled her to the dance floor.

On the dance floor Kara took her time and looked Diana over. She was amazed at how beautiful the other woman was. Kara had no idea how old she was. If she had to guess, Kara would say 30, but knew she was probably wrong. As Diana moved with impossible grace to the music, the light bounced off her lustrous brown hair. Kara watched, mesmerized as Diana swayed her curvaceous hips and full bosom. She lost herself in the other woman's brown eyes. They both ignored the several men who attempted to get their attention and dance with them.

After a few songs, the two heroes sat back down and ordered some drinks. Kara was very thirsty and ordered several of the local frozen fruity concoctions. When they arrived, she downed them one after another. After her third one, Diana put her hand lightly on Kara's arm and said, "You better go easy on those, they pack quite a punch."

Kara laughed in a light hearted way. "You don't have to worry. Alcohol doesn't affect me," she said as she drank her fourth and then fifth drink. Diana was disappointed that Kara had fallen into the trap that so many young college students had and become a binge drinker. Kara noticed the change in Diana's posture and quickly tried to explain. "No Diana, you don't understand. When I said that alcohol doesn't affect me, I meant it," she said. Kara paused choosing her next words carefully. "My physiology is different enough that all poisons, including alcohol, have no effect on me," Kara explained.

Diana thought back to the "fight" at the compound and figured after what she saw Kara do, she was probably telling the truth. "So you ordered the most intoxicating beverage on the menu because …?" Diana asked.

"I was thirsty, and I like how they taste," Kara replied with a shrug. Diana couldn't help but grin at the cute smile Kara shot her way. "Plus, I get to do this with the little paper umbrella," she said as she plucked one out of an empty cup and tucked it into Diana's hair, behind her ear. Diana almost grabbed Kara's hand to feel it more against her cheek.

"I guess that means I can't use the line about asking you back to my place for a night cap can I?" Diana asked. "_**Shit Diana! What are you doing, trying to scare her off?**__"_ she scolded herself. She sat still waiting for Kara's response. Diana's heart almost broke when instead of a sultry smile she got a compassionate one from Kara.

Kara put her hand on Diana's. "There is a lot you don't about me, Dee. Let's go take a walk somewhere more private and if you're all right with everything I tell you; you can ask me again," Kara promised her. Luckily there was no one standing between Diana and the door, because she was sure she would have knocked them aside in her rush to find a private place to talk with Kara.

Once out of sight of everyone the women leapt to the sky. Diana motioned for Kara to follow and they flew to an abandoned temple pyramid in the rainforest. When they landed, Diana was the first to speak. "Kara, obviously I won't think your meta-human powers are strange. You don't have anything to be ashamed of," she said.

"Thanks, Dee, but I'm not ashamed or human," Kara said as she sat down on the flat stone altar.

Diana quickly ran through her mind all of the different races and monsters from Olympus that Kara might be and couldn't think of any that had all of the abilities she had shown. If Kara had been a demigod like Diana, her divine essence would have resonated the instant they had come within half a mile of each other. She was still trying to puzzle out what Kara was when the young woman spoke again. "I'm an alien. My real name is Kara-Zor-El. My planet, Krypton, was destroyed in a civil war 20 years ago," she stated. "I was sent here to take care of my baby cousin Kal-el. My ship's auto-pilot malfunctioned and I crashed. I was in suspended animation for 17 years. Kal was raised by humans and has grown into my now overprotective 'big' cousin," Kara explained. "Our races are almost identical except on your planet we become virtually indestructible. Oh, and to answer a question I'm sure you're wondering about, yep, all the same parts," she said with a sly wink.

Diana was honored that Kara shared this with her. The battle sense Athena had imparted unto her was satisfied as to why her sisters had not learned about Kara before this. The same battle sense told her that Kara was going to be a tremendous ally to the Island of Themyscira. The heart she was given by Aphrodite longed to take the young woman, whose home no longer existed, and hold her in her arms to comfort her. Of course if she were to be completely honest with herself, the same heart (that Aphrodite had put into the clay woman she and the other gods had created so many years ago) wanted to do more than just comfort Kara. "I promise you by my mothers that your secret is safe with me," Diana assured Kara. "Let me repay you by telling you where I am from," she said. Diana gave Kara a brief synopsis of how she was created by the gods to be a champion for the sisters of the Island of Themyscira and the world in general.

"Just to make sure I have this straight, you started out as clay, several entities that were once worshipped as gods combined their powers to create you, and now you're the super-human embodiment of these powers?" Kara asked. Diana just nodded. "Cool!" Kara exclaimed. She leaned over and looked Diana up and down. "Whoever sculpted your body deserves a great big round of applause," she said appreciatively. "So now that we both know that we aren't exactly like normal people, what next?" Kara asked.

Diana sent a silent prayer to her more amorous mother and said, "Like you said, I ask you back to my place again."

Diana watched Kara's smile take on a sultry aspect this time as she heard her say, "Thank Rao." Kara super-sped over to Diana, knocking her into a stone pillar, dislodging a millennium of dust and some of the mortar. Kara's mouth was pressed against hers in a hungry kiss. Diana pulled Kara into her as she opened her lips, allowing their tongues to meet. Kara broke the kiss and stepped back. She smiled shyly and said, "Sorry, but I've been wanting to do that all night."

Diana felt her heart soaring. "I'll take that as yes," she said. She took Kara's hand and leapt into the air again. They sped off to the house that Diana had rented for her stay during the mission. The house was in one of the richer areas of Manaus. The women landed on the balcony of the colonial style house and Diana led Kara into a bedroom dominated by a large four poster bed.

Diana initiated the next kiss. She ran one hand through Kara's golden hair and pulled her to her with the other. Kara also couldn't resist the feeling of Diana's hair falling between her fingers. Kara broke off the kiss again and stepped back to kick off her boots and shrug off her half jacket. Diana ran her hands across Kara's shoulders eliciting a soft sigh. Kara pulled Diana to her again for another passionate kiss. While their tongues were discovering each other, Kara pulled Diana's blouse out of her skirt. Diana followed the movement by pulling her blouse completely off.

Kara drank in the sight of Diana's gorgeous breasts. She ran her hands over then them, feeling their full weight. Diana tugged off Kara's tube top and admired Kara's slightly smaller, pert breasts. She reached out and rolled the younger woman's nipples between her thumb and forefinger. By mutual assent they moved to the bed and lay down. Diana maneuvered Kara onto her back and undid her belt and the buttons of her shorts. Diana slid the shorts off of Kara to find that the girl was a natural blonde and had forgone panties. Kara reached up and unzipped the side zipper on Diana's skirt. Diana shimmied out of it, clad only in a now wet, black thong. Kara slid her hand up the inside of Diana's leg and stroked the outside of Diana's wetness.

Kara hooked her thumbs in the waist band of Diana's thong and slid it off of her new friend. On the return trip she caressed the Princess' smooth ass. Diana lay down on Kara, putting one leg between her new friend's legs. She began to feverishly kiss the younger woman. The women's hands explored each other's bodies and soon they both began to feel the need begin to rise inside. Diana felt Kara's finger enter her while her thumb slid across her clit gently. Diana moaned into Kara's mouth and matched her new lover's hand motions and slid her finger into Kara and brushed ever so slightly against her clit. As they made love, their motions became faster and more intense. They were able to time it so they brought each other to climax at the same time.

After the shudders of their climaxes were over, Diana looked into Kara's eyes. "That was very good for interplanetary relations," she joked. She wasn't sure what to expect next from the young woman. What did happen next was to set the tone for their relationship. Kara nodded and spooned next to Diana after kissing her on the cheek.

"I'll make breakfast in the morning, Dee," Kara said as she cuddled the Amazonian princess.

"_**Thank you, Aphrodite**__,"_ Diana silently offered.

Diana hated to wake the sleeping wonder next to her, but the silver bracelet that was so similar to the gold ones she wore was now glowing red from the symbol engraved on its top. She brushed the other woman's cheek and said, "Kara love, you need to wake up. Your bracelet is glowing and since it doesn't normally do that, I'm guessing it's important."

Kara's eyes snapped opened and she rolled over to look at the bracelet. "Oh shit!" she yelled. Diana became worried. Anything that could upset Kara must be dangerous. She was temporarily distracted as Kara vaulted out of bed and started throwing on her clothes.

Diana put her hand on Kara's shoulder. "Kara, slow down. What's wrong?" the demigod asked.

"My bracelet is a communication device for my family. When it glows red like that it means a family meeting has been called," she stated. "The problem is, only the head of the family can call a meeting and they died when our planet exploded. The next in line is my little cousin, Kal, and he has his head shoved so far up his ass when it comes to admitting he loves this one woman, he might never be able to take up his responsibilities," Kara explained. She squared her shoulders. "If Kal couldn't take up the position, it would revert back to my father, who might have found another time portal," she said anxiously. Kara looked at her friend. "Diana, I hate to ask this of you, but will you come with me? My dad turned out to be an evil bastard that tried to use mind control on me," Kara pleaded.

Diana slipped on her gold bracelets and started hunting for her bra. "Of course I'll help. If he's as strong as you, this planet will need all the help it can get," she assured Kara. "Should we call your cousin for back up?" Diana asked. Kara nodded and hit speed dial on her phone. After several rings, it went to voice mail.

"Either he has it off, or he is already at the Fortress," Kara said. Diana waited for an explanation. "No reception at the North Pole," she explained. Kara and Diana finished dressing. Kara grabbed Diana under the arms and flew off to the Fortress to confront the new head of the House of El since she was the faster flyer.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

J'onn J'onzz, otherwise known as Detective John Jones of the Metropolis Police Department, was finishing up at the scene of another homicide. He hated the fact that humans were so much like his own species in their ability to kill their own kind. J'onn had found the murderer and another detective was interviewing him. The Martian had implanted in the criminal's mind the idea that he wanted to tell the other detective everything that he had done. J'onn was about to get a hot chocolate, a vice he had acquired since taking up residence on Earth, when the pendant he wore vibrated. It had not done that it a very long time. Long ago, he had allied himself with the House of El. After several years fighting alongside Jor-El and rounding up the worst of the worst criminals, Jor-El had rewarded him by making him a member of his house.

The pendant was telling J'onn there was to be a gathering at the Fortress for house members. He was curious as to how the meeting has been called since Jor-El was dead and Kal-El had not yet taken up the mantle. He finished his report and told the sergeant on duty he was taking some time off. When no one was looking, the Martian Manhunter sped off into the sky, headed north.

Lois was still admiring Clark's ass in his new suit. Lara politely coughed and said, "We should be expecting some visitors soon. I activated the Fortress' house recall signal. Tradition states that when a new head takes up their duty, the other house members assemble to acknowledge their loyalty to them."

Diana quickly squeezed Kara's hand as they entered the giant crystal fortress. The Amazonian princess was impressed with the Spartan feel of the place and knew that Kara came from a line of warriors. She spotted a trio of people in the center of the room, two women and a man. The man had his back to them. A closer look showed that one of the women appeared to be some sort of projection. The man was wearing a bright red cape with a shield symbol on the back. The same symbol, but on a blue background, hung on one wall.

"Who dares to assume the head of the House of El?" Kara challenged. "That position is being held for Kal-El, the rightful heir and my cousin," she said loudly. Kara took a threatening step forward and Diana made sure her weight was balanced equally on both feet. Kara took one more step forward and froze. "Lois? What are you doing here?" she asked, not quite connecting the dots.

Diana watched as the man turned around, a charming smile on his face. Kara gasped, not ready to believe her eyes. The hologram of Lara-El, her aunt, stepped out from behind Clark and nodded to her niece. Kara looked back at Clark, tears of joy streaming down her face. She strode to within a pace of Clark and knelt on one knee. "I am Kara-Zor-El, daughter of Zor-El," she said formally. "I have known Kal-El since his birth. I know him to be brave, honest, and loving," she stated, causing Clark to blush. "I know Lois Lane, now Lois-El. I know her to be strong, brave, and caring. I willingly give my loyalty to the new heads of the House of El and ask that they take me as a member of their house," Kara said with all of her heart.

Clark wished he had been briefed on the ceremony, but guessed this was some sort test his mother was putting him through. "_**I guess my parents did have some things in common after all**__," _he thought wryly. "I am Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara-El, and I greet my cousin Kara-El," he stated formally. Clark gently lifted Kara up by her shoulders. He pulled her into a hug and said, "You'll always be my family." Lara smiled and nodded her approval. Her son may not have the love of tradition her husband did, but he obviously won the love of those around him easily. The tender moment was interrupted by another guest walking into the main room. Diana looked over and watched the attractive black man walk to the edge of the dais they were on and pause, taking things in.

Kara gave Clark another quick squeeze and winked at Lois. She walked down to where Diana was standing. As the newcomer walked up to Clark, Diana leaned over to Kara and whispered, "You never told me your cousin and his girlfriend were hot."

J'onn J'onzz stopped the ceremonial pace in front of Clark, a look of pride on his face. He looked over at the center control column. "I am J'onn J'onzz, of Mars, and I have known Kal-El since he was born," he stated. "His father, Jor-El, tasked me with watching over him and seeing that he follows the path to his destiny. I know Kal-El to be willing to sacrifice himself for others, to be brave in face of terrible odds, and to be able to learn from his mistakes. All of these traits are those that will be needed for the future success of the House of El," the Martian proclaimed. He turned towards Lois. "I know Lois Lane, now Lois-El, to be stubborn, aggressive, and relentless when tracking down someone. All traits that I greatly admire," he said with a smirk. "Together they shall make heads of the House of El the likes the Galaxy has not seen in a very long time," J'onn prophesized. "I willingly give my loyalty to the new head of the House of El and ask that they take me as a member of their house," he stated.

Clark put his hand on the older man's shoulder. "You have served the House of El well for a long time, J'onn," he praised. "You have saved my life on more than one occasion. It is I who should be asking you to remain as a member of this house, but since tradition seems to dictate otherwise, I welcome you fully as a member of the House of El," Clark said. He helped J'onn to his feet.

"Well done, Kal-El," Lara said. "Today marks the rebirth of the best of the 5 great houses. Only good can come from this," she told them.

"I think we should tell my mom what has happened," Clark said looking around the room.

"Not to mention the fact that we are engaged," Lois reminded him.

"WHAT?!" Kara yelled. As a Kryptonian, she knew that soulmates mated for life, but she had spent enough time on Earth to get to feel for the local customs. She knew how special the concept of a wedding was for Kal. She super-sped over to her cousin and grabbed him in a hug that would have crushed granite to dust. She picked him up and spun around, shrieking in glee. After she put a bruised and dizzy Clark down, she went over to Lois and gave her a much gentler hug.

When Lois was able to breathe again, she smiled at Kara and asked, "Does this mean I can count on you to be a bridesmaid?"

Kara pumped her fist in the air and exclaimed, "Yes!"

Diana leaned against one of the strange, but beautiful crystal supports and watched the family interaction. She was greatly reassured by her alien lover's reactions. "_**There's nothing really alien about them**_**,**" she thought. "_**And if what I sense from her cousin is real, he might just be the first man I would follow into battle**_**.**"

Martha Kent had arrived at the farm at around 6:30 in the evening. She got out of her car and yelled for Clark. When she got no response, she steeled her nerves and went looking for the young couple. Martha went to the loft and saw the gaping hole in the roof. There were no other signs of a struggle. She tried both Lois and Clark's cell-phones and got voicemail. She was walking back to the farm house when she heard a rustle of fabric behind her. Turning around, she looked up into the sky. Slowly floating down was Clark with Lois in his arms. He was wearing some sort of blue suit with a red cape. They were both grinning from ear to ear. When Lois climbed out of Clark's arms, Martha's breath caught in throat. Clark's suit was a representation of the family symbol she had been discussing with Chloe.

The family went inside were Lois and Clark filled Martha in on the non-sexual details of their day. She was overjoyed at hearing about their engagement and a little confused about the implication that they were already married in Kryptonian culture. She insisted that she borrow Lois' apartment for the remainder of her visit to give the young couple some privacy at night and the Talon some peace in the morning.

Lois watched Martha's car drive off. She folded her hands in front of her and tried to look innocent. "So now that your mom is gone, what do you want do? We could play a board game, or watch a Disney flick, or maybe play some Guitar Hero?" she suggested.

"Hey, Cool!" Clark replied. He started to walk towards the TV, his cape flowing behind him. "I downloaded some new Rascal Flats stuff that I'm sure I can beat you at," he said. Lois pursed his lips in frustration and hit him in the chest, causing her to hurt her hand. Clark took her hand and gently kissed her palm. He then lightly licked the inside of her wrist at the pulse point. "Bedroom," he murmured.

"Uh-huh," Lois managed to whisper. She quickly regained control. "You're going to pay for that, Mister. Now up to bed with you," she said pointing to the stairs. Clark gave her a sexy smile and dropped her wrist. He turned around and walked up the stairs. "_**Oh that's no fun**__," _Lois thought. "_**With that cape I can't see his ass at all. I'm sure it looks awesome going up those stairs.**__" _She pouted.

They made it to Clark's bedroom and Lois walked past him into the room. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his. Lois slid one hand down his chest, feeling the smooth blue "fabric" of his suit. She traced the "S" with her finger and then slid her hand further down his chest to stomach. Lois felt Clark's muscles tremble slightly as she brushed gently across his stomach. "_**Smallville's ticklish! That is such useful information to have when your fiancé is a superhero**__," _she thought_._ Lois relented and stepped back. She flipped her hair like she knew turned Clark on and started to unbutton her blouse. Clark took a deep breath and watched in wonder at the sexiness of the woman he loved. Lois threw her shirt into the hamper in the corner, making the shot for once, and said seductively, "Your turn, Smallville."

Lois watched Clark's expression go from pure, hungry lust to confusion to near panic in a matter of seconds. "Oh, no," Clark muttered. "I have no idea how to get this thing off. It sort of turned into a blob that spilled around me in the crystal," he explained.

Lois heard the concern in his voice but noticed that she was still having an effect on him in other ways if the large bulge in his tights was any indication. "Remember when I said you were going to pay for messing with me downstairs?" Lois asked. Lois unhooked her bra and tossed it towards the hamper. Clark had no idea if it made it or not, his attention firmly on her gorgeous breasts. Lois reached forward and stroked his cock through his suit.

"Lois, that's not very nice," Clark told her. She turned around and rubbed her jean clad ass against his raging erection.

"It's not my fault you don't know how to get your costume off," she said. Lois turned around and looked at him, a truly wicked look in her eye. "Oh well, at least I know how to get myself off," she sighed. With that, she took off her jeans and panties and lay down on the bed. Clark was stunned. Lois began to circle her breasts with her hands. She watched Clark's eyes follow her every movement. Lois rolled her nipples between her thumb and fingers making them hard. She let out a low moan, brought one hand up to her mouth, and licked her finger. Lois spread her knees, giving Clark a perfect view of her gorgeous womanhood. She traced the outside of her outer lips with her slick finger, enjoying the sensation. From the rapid breathing coming from Clark, she guessed he was enjoying it too.

Lois continued to stimulate her nipples with one hand while she slowly maneuvered her other closer to her wet entrance. When she couldn't take it any longer, she slid her finger into herself, causing her to moan even loader. Lois brought her finger out, wet with her juices, and started to rub her clit. She looked up at Clark and saw the panic from earlier had been replaced by a hunger she had never seen on him. He his hands were roving all over his own body. She suppressed a chuckle when she realized he wasn't trying to give himself pleasure, he was trying to find a release clasp. His right hand went under his left collar and she swore she saw the largest Kent smile ever appear on Clark's face. A seam opened along the entire left side of the suit and a clicking noise came from the boots. Lois saw a blur of motion and the suit was hanging in the closest. A nude Clark was standing at the foot of the bed, a huge erection begging for attention.

"May I cut in," he asked politely. She was rubbing her clit and the sight of him standing there nude, wanting her, pushed her over the edge. She trembled in a somewhat satisfactory orgasm. When the tremors were over, she reached out and drew Clark onto the bed. She had barely lain down when she felt him enter her. She gasped at how he filled her. Clark began ramming hard into her, rattling the headboard. He took her mouth with his; thrusting his tongue into her mouth with as much energy as his cock was thrusting below. Lois grabbed his shoulders and locked her legs behind his, urging him on. She wanted to encourage him more, but found she was only capable of making primal screams of ecstasy. He brought her to another orgasm that out shown her self induced one like the sun out shown a candle. Lois was very glad Martha had volunteered to stay at the apartment. She knew there was no way she could silence herself as she rode wave after wave of pleasure as Clark released his pent up sexual frustration. Clark finally let out a growl of triumph as he came. Even in that seemingly rough moment, he slipped his arms around her back and held her to him. He kissed her until both of them were through the after-shocks. Clark rolled off of her and wiped a sweaty lock of hair from her face.

"We should get some sleep," he suggested. "We have to tell Chloe and Oliver tomorrow," he reminded her. Lois' throat was still too hoarse from yelling to talk, so she only nodded happily.

Halfway across the Galaxy, an alien hand held a pendant taken from a dead retainer of the House of El. The pendant was vibrating. The beautiful, black haired woman holding it looked across the bridge of her ship and gave orders to her crew. "Trace this signal back to its source. As soon as you locate its origin, plot a course. We stand to lose too much money if this means what I think it does. The House of El can not be allowed to rise again," she said coldly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Lois woke up and stretched her arms. When she didn't encounter any resistance, she opened her eyes. She was lying in Clark's bed alone. Next to her on the pillow was a beautiful orchid that she knew from her childhood only grew in Asia. Lois got up, put on one of Clark's flannel shirts, and put the flower behind her ear.

Lois went downstairs and found Clark making breakfast. She stood in the hallway admiring him. Clark had thrown a pair of flannel lounge pants, but was bare from the waist up. "Thanks for the flower, Smallville. I would have rather woken up next to you though," Lois told him. "Of course you making breakfast goes a long way towards making it up to me," she admitted. Lois snatched a piece of buttered toast from a stack on the counter. "I could give you a hand," Lois offered.

Clark looked pained. "Ah … that's ok, Lois. I've got it covered," he said quickly.

"Come on, Smallville, my cooking isn't that bad," Lois complained.

"Lois, let me put it this way. Your cooking is about as good as my choices in girlfriends during high school," Clark said.

"Ouch, Smallville. That's a low blow," Lois replied. She was secretly thankful that Clark wasn't letting her cook, but she couldn't let her fiancé know that. She was about to argue more when she watched him grab the cast iron skillet with his bare hands and flip the pancakes. "Smallville, watch out!" she yelled.

Clark spun around to look out the window still holding the burning hot skillet. "What? Where?" he asked, ready to protect Lois.

Lois stared at the skillet and chuckled, "Sorry stud, having your boyfriend be invulnerable takes some getting used to." When he still look confused, Lois gestured towards his hand.

"Oh … yeah," Clark said with understanding. "My mom freaked out too the first time she saw me do that and she knew about my secret for years before she allowed me in the kitchen," he laughed. Clark put the skillet back down and went hunting for jam in the fridge.

"As long as your mom did it too, I don't feel so bad," Lois said. "How about I set the table at least?" she offered. Lois grabbed plates and silverware and walked over to the table.

Clark found the elusive jam he was looking for and turned around. Lois had her back turned towards him and was bending over the table to put a plate down. His flannel shirt rode up, exposing the shapely round curves of her naked ass. Clark smiled in appreciation and leaned against the nearest surface, his thoughts only for the beauty of Lois' body.

Lois could feel Clark watching her and took her time arranging the plate and silverware. When she turned around, he had a dopey, but still adorable smile on his face. Lois cocked her head to the side. "Smallville, you're smoking," she said.

"You're pretty hot yourself, Lois," he replied.

"Smallville, I think your ass is on fire," Lois said calmly.

Clark gave Lois a sexy smirk. "And right now, your gorgeous ass is all I can think about," he said in a sultry voice.

Lois sighed and rolled her eyes. She pointed to the stove where Clark was leaning and spoke slowly, "Your … ass … is … on… fire." Clark jumped off of the stove and spun around several times trying to look over his shoulder at the small flames coming from the back side of his pants. Lois walked to the sink, got a glass of water, and dowsed his pants with it; putting out the flames. "How did you manage to not feel that?" Lois asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

Clark blushed a little when he answered her. "I got distracted by watching your ass peek out from under my shirt. I guess I was so focused, I didn't notice something as trivial as a flame," he admitted. Clark shrugged his shoulders and then took Lois in his arms. He slid his hands down and cupped her butt cheeks.

Lois over at the smoldering remains of breakfast. "What about breakfast?" she asked.

Clark stroked her outer thighs gently, bringing his hands up to her waist. "How about a Daily Planet special after a while?" Clark suggested. He leaned forward and blew slightly on her earlobe.

Lois sighed and fought to keep her self control. "That sounds great, Smallville. As for what you're suggesting right now, it will have to wait till later. We have to meet your mom and Chloe at the Talon in a little bit to tell Chloe the news about our engagement," she reminded him. "I also want to ask her to be my Maid of Honor. Chloe deserves a chance to get back at me after what I put her through at her wedding," Lois said. "Now go up and change, I want to call your mom first," she ordered. Lois watched Clark walk out of the kitchen and let out a guffaw.

"Now what?" Clark asked.

"Smallville, if you ever get the urge to dress up sexy for me, ass-less chaps will only send me into giggles," Lois informed him as she slapped Clark on his exposed butt.

Clark slid his pants off. He stood naked in the living room, putting his hand through the gaping burn hole in his lounge pants. He shook his head and said, "I can promise that's one costume choice you won't find me in." He tossed the ruined clothes in the trash and headed up the stairs.

Lois peeked around the corner to watch Clark walk up the stairs naked. "Make sure you bring the _suit_. I know Chloe will want to see it," Lois advised him.

Lois and Clark drove into the parking lot of the Talon. Clark recognized his mom's car and Oliver's Porsche. The newly engaged couple walked into the coffee house hand in hand. When they entered, they saw Oliver, Chloe, and Martha sitting at nearby table. Kara and Diana were in the middle of pulling a second table up to the first. Martha saw them and rushed to greet them at the door. She hugged first Clark and then Lois. Martha pulled out a ring sized jewelry box from her pocket and handed it to Lois. "It was right where you said it would be, Lois," she whispered. Martha squeezed each of their hands once and then walked back to the table. Clark started to follow, but he was stopped by Lois' hand on his elbow.

"I want to talk to you for just a moment before we go over there," Lois told him.

"Ok, Lois," Clark replied.

"Smallville, I know out here in farm country people are pretty rooted in tradition and I know it is tradition for the guy to get the woman an engagement ring," Lois said. "But you and your mom have finally made me feel like I was part of a family again. The last time I felt that way was when my mom was alive. That is why I was hoping you would be willing to give me this ring," she stated. Lois opened up the box to show a simple gold band with a small, princess cut diamond. The type of ring a young Army officer right out of West Point might be able to afford. "That way, I will always be reminded of family, both past and present," she told Clark. "My mom would have been very proud to have you as a son-in-law, by the way," Lois added. Clark took the ring, a tear running down his cheek. Lois saw his tear and hit him in the arm. "Knock it off, Smallville, or you're going to make me cry and Lane women don't cry, hear me," she ordered.

"Yes, Ma'am," Clark said as he saluted her. He followed up the salute by kissing her cheek and blocking her from view of the crowd in the coffee house. His lips brushed the solitary tear off of her cheek. Clark waited until he was sure she was composed, which for Lois, usually took less than a second, and turned around. He took her hand and led her to the table of their friends and family.

"Hey guys, how has your weekend been?" Chloe asked. Before they could respond, she added, "And this _is_ a really good coffee, no wonder they named it after you, Clark." Clark looked at Chloe in confusion, not knowing they had named a drink after him.

"We've had quite an eventful weekend," Lois admitted. "What's a Clark Kent?" she asked Clark. He shrugged his shoulders.

"It's an awesome cappuccino-espresso blend covered with whipped cream," Chloe replied. She sipped her cup, enjoying the delicious flavor. Clark turned around and looked at the specials board. The newest drink was indeed the "Clark Kent" and under it was written "guaranteed to make you smile in the morning". He flushed a deep red and slowly turned around, trying not to look at his mother.

Lois caught Clark's reaction and read the sign. She looked at Chloe who had her half-tilted head, confused smile on her face. "I'll explain later," Lois said.

The super powered among them heard a rush of wind outside and Bart Allen walked into the Talon. "Sorry I'm late, Amigos, but I got held up in Seoul," he said. Bart headed to the counter to order a drink before he joined the group. He read the sign and chuckled. He ordered a soda instead. After he got his order, he joined the happy gathering and was embarrassed to see the only seat open was next to Mrs. Kent.

"Hi Bart," Chloe said. "You have to try the Talon's new coffee," she offered.

"_**Sorry Chloe, I don't swing that way**_," Bart thought. "I'm trying to cut down on my …" he looked up at the ceiling for a split second, "… coffee intake."

Oliver could see his friend Clark was in distress and decided to throw him a lifeline. "So Clark, now that we're all here. What's the big news you wanted to tell us?" he asked.

Clark silently mouthed "thank you" to Oliver. "Actually we have two things to discuss with you guys. The first one I want to talk about here in public, where the whole world can see and hear," he said. "After that, we can all head up to the apartment where we can fill you guys in on something related to the first," he stated.

Clark stood up and looked around at his family and friends. He took time to make eye contact with each of them. Clark's smile was infectious. After he had silently acknowledged each person there, he turned towards Lois and took her by the hand. Clark pulled Lois to her feet. For the second time that weekend, Clark Kent went down on a knee before Lois Lane. He pulled her mother's engagement ring out of her pocket. He heard Chloe gasp next to him as she realized what he was doing. "Lois Lane, I love you with all of my heart and soul. I now know that with you by my side I can accomplish anything. Without you I am incomplete. Will you marry me?" Clark asked. A hush fell over the Talon as other customers waited for her response.

Lois tapped her jaw pretending to ponder things. "Now and forever, Smallville," she replied as she bent down and kissed him on the lips. Lois straightened up and said loudly, "That's a 'yes' for those of you listening in." Her comment was met with thunderous applause.

Clark stood back up and held Lois' chair for her. He looked at Oliver and Bart. "Oliver, I was hoping you would agree to be my best man and Bart you would agree to be my groom's man?" Clark asked.

Oliver nodded his head, smiling. "I'm honored, Clark, and I can guarantee you a bachelor party the likes of which Metropolis will never forget," Oliver promised. Clark looked nervous.

"Don't worry amigo, it's what friends are for," Bart assured him. "Now introduce me to that hot brunette friend of Kara's. Do you think she's into really fast short guys?" he wondered.

"Family Captain Tee'ann, we have located the source of the transmission. It's coming from a planet in one of the outer spiral arms," the technician told his captain. "Our database shows relatively little information about it. The population of the planet is humanoid, but at a level 4 pre-interstellar travel technology base," he informed her.

Tee'ann stood in front of the vid-screen nude, talking with the technician. She had told the crew to contact her day or night with any news on the origin of the Kryptonian signal. "So what you're telling me is we are headed to pretty much the ass end of nowhere," she paraphrased. The tech nodded, not hiding the fact that he was staring at her breasts on his monitor. She smiled at his reaction. He was cute in a just out of trade school way. "Tell the crew to set course immediately," she said as she looked over her shoulder. "I will be on the bridge in half an hour. No, better give me a full hour," she said with a husky voice. Tee'ann shut her link off. She crawled back in bed with her chief engineer. "Now show me that trick you learned on that last planet that has all the other women so excited," she ordered.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Clark counted the assembled friends and family and realized they wouldn't all fit comfortably in the apartment above the Talon. He suggested that they take the party to the farm house. Before people started to leave, Clark stopped them and started taking dinner orders. "Ok folks, dinner is on me. You know the drill, whatever from wherever," he laughed. He got out a note pad and started taking notes. Diana was confused when people started asking for foods from restaurants that weren't in Smallville. Diana mentioned her confusion to Kara.

"I guess I forgot to mention exactly how fast Kal really is," she whispered to Diana. "Tell him where you would like your food from and by that I mean what city and country. As long as the place is open, Kal will bring it back warm," she promised. "Usually he and Bart take turns, but with this many people, I guess they will both go and Kal will give him some money," Kara said.

Diana looked at the short, blonde man who had been ogling her all evening. "_HE_ has super powers?" she said incredulously. Kara giggled.

Clark arranged for Chloe to give Lois and Martha a ride to the farm house while he divided the list evenly between Bart and himself. He showed the list to Bart. "I divided it equally by continent and distance traveled over oceans," he said. Bart took his list with a grin. Clark matched it, the old rivalry flaring.

"No flying, Amigo?" Bart asked making sure the rules hadn't changed.

"No flying. Running only," Clark swore.

Bart turned to Diana. "I run this race for you, my beautiful goddess," he said, not knowing how close to the truth of her origins he actually was. "Chloe, will you do the honors?" he asked. Chloe held up her hand and snapped her fingers.

To those without super enhanced senses, the two men simply disappeared. Diana had shifted her senses into super speed the moment Chloe had raised her hand. It felt like an eternity before Chloe's fingers came together to make the snap. When they did, even Diana's senses could barely track Clark and Bart as they ran out of the room. Diana's jaw dropped. "_**That's impossible**__," _she thought, "_**They're even faster than Hermes himself!**__" _

The group met back up at the farm house to find Clark and Bart lounging in the front rocking chairs. Clark was talking about how he had finally won, when Bart held up a napkin with a waitress' phone number on it, explaining why he was late. The others came inside and stated eating. Bart sat down to a table full of food all to himself. After dinner, the group moved into the living room while some of them remained in the dining room.

Diana gave Bart a cold glance as he plopped down on the couch next to her. He seemed to be oblivious to the fact that she and Kara were dating. She shook her head in frustration, held Kara's hand, and watched the interesting woman named Lois Lane get up and stand next to Kal-El. Diana knew everyone else thought of him as "Clark", but her new lover would always think of her baby cousin as Kal and so would she. Diana was just as impressed with Lois as she was with Kal. From what Kara had told her, Lois had never been intimidated by Kal's super-human abilities. In fact, if you were to even suggest it to her she would probably punch you in the stomach like a proper Amazonian would. Kara said the only things that had daunted Lois in the beginning were her own self doubt and Kal's obsession with a poisonous girl named Lana Lang. Kara had likened her to a poisonous spider, giving Diana the chills. Like all daughters of Athena, she had inherited a dislike of arachnids.

Lois stood by Clark and addressed the room. "We have a confession to make. Smallville proposed to me _yesterday_ and I accepted. He gave me this bracelet from his _hometown," she admitted._ Lois showed them the silver bracelet with the aquamarine diamond. "As you all know, our two favorite Kansas cousins are actually from Krypton," she said. The assembled group nodded their heads with Oliver and Bart making goofy antennae with their fingers behind their heads. Clark laughed at his friends good natured teasing. Lois kicked Oliver's foot, glaring at her ex-boyfriend. "When leather fetish dude and over in 60 milliseconds boy are finished, I will go on," she stated. This drew a round of chuckles from everyone in the room except for Bart as he figured out what she was implying.

"When I accepted the bracelet, I accepted Clark for all he was and he accepted me for all I was," Lois told the group. "We realized we were soulmates. I guess the bracelet realized this as well and sent a message to the Fortress," she said. Lois went on to explain their meeting with Lara-El and their acceptance of their duties as the new Heads of the House of El. When she was done telling the story she opened the floor up to questions.

Oliver was the first to ask a question. "Now that we all know you're the scion of a rich and powerful family like yours truly, will you finally let me sponsor you for that membership to the country club?" he asked. Chloe slapped her boyfriend on the back of the head. "Just kidding, Clark," he laughed. "What kind of help can Queen Industries offer to the House of El?" Oliver asked on a more serious note.

Clark looked over at Kara and then back to Oliver. "Our grandmother always ran the business side of things," Kara said. "I tried to stay as far away from the books as possible," she admitted.

"I really have no idea what QI can do to help, but I have a feeling that I'll need your advice when it comes to getting the business side of the House up and running," Clark told his friend. Kara nodded her head in agreement.

Chloe was the next friend to speak. "I'm still trying to get over the fact that you can fly now. Tell us all about your first flight," she begged. Clark blushed as he remembered his clothing optional journey through the atmosphere. "Uh … maybe some other time," he stammered.

The meeting wore down and people filtered out of the house. Lois set up another meeting for the next night with just her, Chloe, Kara, and Martha to work out details about the upcoming wedding. Kara and Diana flew off to the apartment Oliver had set up for Kara near the Watchtower building. Martha was the last person to leave. She insisted that she spend the night at the Talon apartment again, to give Lois and Clark some privacy. When everyone had gone, Clark changed out of his clothes and headed for the bathroom to take a shower.

When he finished with his shower, Clark came into the bedroom toweling off his hair. He had another towel wrapped around his waist. He found Lois sitting on the edge of the bed wearing only a flannel shirt. She was holding up her hand, looking at the ring Clark had put on her finger earlier that day. Lois didn't look up when he walked in. Clark politely coughed to let her know he was there.

Lois looked up at the noise and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Smallville. I was zoning out there for a moment," she told him.

Clark sat next to her and put his perfectly defined arm around her shoulders. "Is everything ok?" he asked her gently.

Lois looked onto his deep blue eyes and sighed contentedly. "For once, everything is great," she replied. "I was waiting for you to get out of the shower and was thinking back to how I used to be before I met you," Lois said. "If someone had told me that I would ever need someone as desperately as I need you, I would have punched them in the face. Now I can't imagine a world without you by my side," she told him softly. Lois leaned her head against his chest. "I want you to know that is because of how super patient and super loving you've been the last few years that makes me determined, come hell or high-water, that I WILL BE Mrs. Lois Lane-Kent," she promised. "Then there is also the fact that you're super in bed," she added with a grin. Lois tussled his black hair and then ran her hand down his chest. She continued down his body and undid his towel. Lois took an appreciative look at Clark's now nude body and said, "Come to think about it, you're a superman all around."

Lois reached over and started to slowly stroke Clark's cock to attention. She decided it was time to do what Lana had never done for him. Lois slid off of the bed and positioned herself in between Clark's legs. She kept her hand slowly stroking his shaft and began slowly rotating his balls with her other. "_**So that is what a handjob is supposed to feel like**_," Clark thought happily. He moaned and his eyes rolled back in his head as Lois took things a step past that and wrapped her lips around the tip of his cock. She swirled her tongue around his tip and then took her mouth off so she could talk. "Do you like that, Smallville?" she asked, already sure of the answer.

"God yes, Lois! But I need to touch you to," he pleaded.

"We'll fuck later, but right now, I want to make you cum with my mouth," Lois said, licking her lips. Clark's prick twitched at the sight. Lois put her mouth back on his cock and ran her tongue around the edge. She then moved her mouth so she could run her tongue up his shaft. When Lois reached the end, she gave the tip a little flick before putting it back in her mouth. Clark began to moan loader and she saw his arm and leg muscles tightening. Lois sped up her pace with both her hands and her tongue. She started to actually suck while running her tongue up and down his most sensitive member.

"Oooohhhhh Lois, I'm going to cum!" he shouted to give her warning after a few minutes. Lois took the hand she was using on his testicles and reached up to his face. Lois made sure she was looking into her lover's eyed as he shot his hot load into her mouth. Clark saw the love in her eyes and that made his orgasm that much more intense. When he was finished, Clark fell back onto the bed. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. Eventually he was able to get out a breathless, "Fuck me!"

"OK!" Lois said eagerly, stripping out of the flannel shirt. She had become so turned on by giving Clark pleasure that she was nearly vibrating with sexual tension. She joined him on the bed and it wasn't long before his erection came back to full strength. "I need you NOW, Smallville," she demanded. Clark spread her legs apart with his and slid his stiff cock into her very wet pussy. Clark felt her need for him and helped her bring her legs towards her chest, giving him deeper access into her. He started off thrusting hard, each thrust rubbing his pelvic bone against her clit. Each motion of his hips brought out and an exclamation or a moan. Soon, Clark felt the walls of her pussy tighten around his shaft as she climaxed and called out, "Kal!" Her yelling his Kryptonian name in ecstasy helped him over the edge and he came a second time that evening.

They were lying side by side when Clark asked Lois, "I gotta ask. Why did you yell out Kal as you came?"

Lois hit him the shoulder before putting her head on his chest. "You trying saying 'Smallville' while having a mind blowing orgasm. Kal is a lot easier to say, besides, it is part of who you are and you should never be ashamed of it," she told him. "Let's get some sleep. We have to go into work tomorrow," she suggested.

Family Captain Tee'ann sat in her command chair looking over the bridge of her ship. She was uncomfortable heading into a relatively uncharted area of space. Most of the galaxy had been charted by now and to have a region in such a densely populated spiral arm not be well mapped was not normal. She had assigned the tech who had found the information in the first place the job of researching why it had not been mapped. Tee'ann was about to call for a progress report when the tech came running onto the bridge. He slowed down as soon as he reached the bulkhead into the bridge proper as to not upset the senior officers, but he had come to her quickly with news.

"Family Captain Tee'ann, I found the information you were looking for," he said, out of breath.

Tee'ann ran her hand through her long hair. "How many times do I have to go over this," she said calmly. "We are not on the Family home station. You can refer to me as either captain or Ma'am while we are space. If we are in a battle situation, you could have us all killed before you spit the titles out," she reminded him.

"Sorry, Fam … Ma'am. I found out why no one ever goes to that solar system," he said with pride. When she motioned for him to continue, he smirked and said, "Superstition." Tee'ann gave him a multiple raised finger gesture that meant intrigued surprise in their culture. "This is the home system of the Martians," he told her. The tech waited for some form of praise from his Captain or possibly a snarky comment about primitive superstitions. He was completely surprised by what she did instead. Tee'ann wasted a second looking at the tech in shocked dismay and then reached over to slam down on the red alert button on her command chair. "Ma'am, the Martians died out thousands of years ago. They're extinct. A legend to scare children," the tech said in confusion.

Tee'ann shot him a withering glance. The tech wisely took a couple of steps back until he was out of arm range. "As a girl, I was required to study the history of the House of El before I could become a shareholder," she told him. "The House of El had a Manhunter on its payroll who just happened to be the very last Martian. We received a signal from the House of El that comes back to the home system of the Martian Manhunter. You're smart, you do the math," she said sarcastically.

The tech swallowed audibly. He had researched the Martians when he found out what system they were going to. Short of the Captain, he was probably the only other one on the ship who knew what a Martian warrior was capable of. He had read the horror stories of the gruesome violence and terrible mind tortures they were capable of. They possessed awesome abilities, relentless, and totally without mercy.

"Go to stealth mode as soon as we reach the outer boundary of the system," Tee'ann ordered. "As for you," she said pointing at the tech, "Find me the Manhunter's weaknesses," she commanded. "On your way to the library computer, tell the science lab to cobble together as many ESP blockers as they can," she added. "Get to work!" she almost shouted. Tee'ann fingered her collarbone were her own ESP blocker had been implanted when she had earned the right to be a shareholder. "_**This is going to be more interesting than I thought. I wonder if I can get the command codes to the orbital brewery we captured from him. Anyone who can bring Phantom Zone back on the market is set to make a very large sum of credits**__,"_ she thought.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Lana stormed into the Daily Planet building looking for blood. True, LexCorp no longer owned the Planet, but she still felt like they owed the Luthors respect and what she had seen printed in the Sunday Social Column was a slap in the face. "_**How dare they print that photo of Clark kissing that pit bull, Lane?**__" _ Lana thought. She was going to head straight to Tess Mercer's office and demand they print a story saying it was a publicity stunt. "_**There is no way Clark would be kissing … her … it had to be a stunt!**__" _she thought. Lana had convinced herself it was a stunt, because if it wasn't, it meant that Clark had finally freed himself of her. She was about to head to the elevator when she saw a group a women at the foot of the stairs. Her hated nemesis was at the center of the group. Lana made her way to ease drop on them and her heart froze.

"We always thought there was something between you two," one of the female reporters said to Lois. "So you guys are finally out of the broom closet, huh?" she inquired.

Lois blushed a little and said, "Well, we have been best friends for the last couple of years, it just sort of happened."

Kat Stevens muscled her way through the crowd and used her honed gossip mongering skills to figure out what Lois and Clark had been up to the last couple of days. Kat looked Lois up and down for clues. The first thing she noticed was the new, silver bracelet with the large blue crystal in the center. Being a child of privilege, Kat thought there was a very good chance that the stone could be a rare aquamarine diamond. "_**That must have set Clark back a fortune!**__" _Kat thought. Her eyes widened in shock as they flitted to Lois' other hand. "Stop the presses!" she yelled at the top of lungs causing all activity to stop in the bullpen. "I've always wanted to say that," Kat whispered to no one in particular. She grabbed Lois' hand and held it up for all of the women to see. A collective gasp rose from the women surrounding Lois. The male employees were oblivious to this side of society as usual. From Lana's position at the top of the stairs, she was able to see the glint of gold on Lois' finger.

"_**NO! NO! He wouldn't dare! Not with that **__**Army BRAT**__** whore!**__"_ Lana thought in outrage. She ran forward, pushing the female employees of the Daily Planet rudely out of her way. She grabbed Lois' hand and stared at the ring in an effort to try and prove to herself that it wasn't real. Lana's true nature came out when she started laughing about the size of the diamond. "I guess Clark didn't care enough to spend the customary 2 months' salary on the ring, Lois," Lana gloated.

Kat was surprised, instead of knocking Lana into the next county, Lois simply stood there looking almost _regal_. Kat was torn. She wasn't friends with Lois Lane by any stretch of the imagination, but Kat really, _really_ didn't like Lana Luthor. Kat made her decision when she realized that while she had no female friends, she had a grudging respect for Lane. Kat Stevens was able to send most women running to the bathroom sobbing with her comments about their choice in clothing or men. Lane was not only able to stand there and take it, but she dished it right back. Kat figured she would rather turn this against Lana and watch her run away crying like the spoiled little girl she was, than see Lois stand there stoically.

Kat snatched Lois' hand with a gleeful smile on her face. "Oh, let me see what our resident farm boy has been up to," she said. She held Lois' hand closer to her face and then started rattling off the things she saw. "Let's see here - You're right Mrs. Luthor, it is a rather small diamond. That particular cut hasn't been in fashion for at least 25 years," she informed Lana. Kat caught Lois' eye and winked. They both knew that the princess cut was in fact more popular now than it was 20 years ago. As a fan of diamonds, Kat knew that the princess cut had started gaining popularity in 1960's and it had steadily gained ground ever since. Lois caught the obvious lie and winked back. Lois allowed Kat to hold her hand up for inspection a little longer. "The gold band also has some old looking scratches on it. Which also dates the ring to be at _least _2 decades old," Kat stated.

"Oh, that is wonderful!" Lana crowed. "Clark got your ring at a pawn shop. You mean even less to him than I thought," she laughed.

Before Lois could respond, Kat cut in and looked at Lois. "So Lane, how exactly did you manage to turn a boy raised on a farm into a hopeless romantic?" she inquired. Lana's brows furrowed as her minor victory over Lois started to slip away. Kat saw the look on Lana's face and went for the "killing blow". "I mean come on Lois, we all know Clark is a great guy and all, but to do something as romantic as using a family heirloom to ask the woman he _loves_ to marry him isn't exactly his style. It must have taken quite a _**woman**_ to inspire him," Kat said loud enough for the whole floor to hear. Lana spun on her heel and ran out of the building vowing that she would find a way to make sure Clark was hers again, not caring that she was already married.

The bullpen was quiet as the employees were still watching the show that was going on at the base of the stairs. Some of the employees were surprised that Lois and Clark had become engaged. The rest were surprised it had taken them as long as it had. Kat looked at Lois and said loudly, "Don't get me wrong, Lane. I don't like you, never have, never will … but … congratulations anyway." Kat leaned over and hugged Lois. Glass shattered as a mug slipped from the stunned fingers of a bullpen reporter. Another reporter glanced nervously out the ground level window, looking for the hooves of the horses bearing the four horseman of the apocalypse. Clark chose that moment to come in from the back door that led to the parking garage. He saw the stillness of the bullpen and Lois and Kat standing together at the base of the stairs. He leaned over to Craig the photographer to ask what was going on.

"Another Lois-Kat catfight?" Clark asked Craig.

"Aaaaahhhh!" Craig yelled as he was startled by the unseen "star" of the drama they were watching. He let go of his mug and the ceramic death toll was increased to 2. "Crap, Clark! How does someone your size move that quietly?" Craig managed to say when his heart crawled out of his throat. "And no they aren't fighting for once. Kat just gave Lois a hug," Craig said.

For a man born on another planet, blessed with super powers no human could ever come close to matching, and who now had conversations with both of his dead parents years after their death, there were some things that were too unbelievable even for him. "No, really, what is going on over there?" Clark asked. He didn't hear Craig's response. His attention was drawn to the crystal tone that he had just heard. Lois looked at him and shrugged her shoulders with a smile, confirming that she heard it as well. Clark pulled out his cell-phone and pretended to answer it. "I'll talk to you later, Craig," he said before he started talking into the phone faking a reason to leave. He saw Lois out of the corner of his eye sending herself an email; essentially doing the same thing. She motioned with her head to the front and left first. Clark made his way to the stairwell and super-sped out of his clothes and into the House suit. He launched from the top of the building and saw Lois waiting for him in a deserted alley. He swooped down and took her in his arms. Together, the Heads of the House of El sped north to answer the emergency call of the Fortress.

Family Captain Tee'ann looked at the pretty, blue water planet displayed on the main viewscreen of the bridge. They had bypassed the Martian home world when they saw the lifeless state it was in. The image on the screen was slightly distorted by the stealth field and no amount of filtering on the other end was able to clear it up completely. The planet she was looking at had several large land masses, but the smaller of the two large ones stretching from pole to pole held her interest.

Her crew had launched several probes to scan for Kryptonian signals. Normally they would have only had to send one probe into orbit, but the natives of this planet were sending so much EM interference into space it was a wonder they their sensors worked at all. The probes were set up in a geo-synchronous orbit covering the most likely areas where the leader of a galactic super power would reside. Therefore, the search pattern excluded the polar ice caps. The network of probes paid off and they located a Kryptonian transmitter in the center of the northern half of the skinnier land mass. The probes were able to determine it was in a rural area, underground, near what appeared to be farms of some kind.

"Get me a team in power armor ready in the matter transmission bay within 15 minutes," she told her head of security. "I'll be leading this strike myself. I want the House of El to know who put them out of business for good," she said over her shoulder as she walked down the corridor out of the bridge.

Kara and Diana were already at the fortress when Clark and Lois arrived. J'onn J'onzz was standing at the center command column working at the controls. A holographic map of the solar system hovered above him. The image of Lara-El stood serenely by the map. "Kal … Lois, welcome back," Lara said. "Lois, I raised the temperature so you wouldn't be cold. I don't know why my husband never bothered to do it for any other of Clark's human visitors," she said and gave an irritated glance at the column. "Before we get started with the reason of why J'onn sent for you, I have something for you, Lois," Lara said as she gestured towards a cut off column were a silver globe rotated slowly above it.

"Um, it's pretty," Lois said hesitantly, not wanting to offend her mother-in-law. "Do I get to throw it at people?" Lois asked. Diana brightened at the sound of someone mentioning a weapon.

Lara's laugh tinkled off the crystals. "No, my dear. It isn't a weapon. It's your raiment of house leadership," Lara replied.

Lois stepped closer to the globe. "No offense, but it doesn't look like it is going to cover much. I don't think Smallville will mind, but I think I will feel a little self-conscious wearing just a silver tennis ball to family get togethers," Lois said.

It was Kara's turn to laugh. "Lois, that is a big ball of nano-machines. Once you touch it, it will take a psychic reading and design your outfit based on your true self," she explained. "Go on, it won't bite. Look at what it did for Kal," Kara said. Lois looked over at Clark's blue and red suit as he watched her, a smirk on his face. Lois stuck her tongue out at him and touched the ball.

The ball turned out to be more like a liquid that a solid, turning into a puddle when she touched it. The puddle ran up her hand and then under her shirt sleeve. The others could tell where it was headed by watching Lois' head as she looked first at her shoulder and then her chest. She gasped, "Shitt that's cold." Lois lifted her blouse away from her chest and looked down. "Sorry folks, not much of an improvement in the covering department," she told them. The silver blob had formed a line from her bra to her panties, covering a small patch of her torso.

"Give them time, Lois. Kal's suit has over 100 years of experience, so it was able to work for him much faster than yours will. Yours is brand new and is having to adjust to a human on top of the normal boot-up sequence," Lara explained. Lara's face turned somber as she turned toward the map of the solar system. "J'onn has some disturbing news," she said.

J'onn moved his hand over some of the smaller crystals and the map zoomed out past the solar system. "Late last night, one of my early detection satellites picked up a ship entering our system," he said. A red dot appeared on the map outside the system and moved at a steady pace towards the interior. When it reached the orbit of Pluto, the dot faded out. "The ship disappeared as soon as it reached the edge of the system," J'onn told them. "I picked up it up again when my more powerful scanners on Mars picked up a ship using a stealth field as it passed by on a course directly for Earth. I don't know that the ship is hostile, but anything that large and spends that much energy on not being seen usually isn't here for a nice chat," he explained. As if on cue, an alarm sounded through the Fortress.

"What is that noise? It sounds like Hades hit himself in the testicles with a rake again," Diana said, looking around for an attack. Lois raised an eyebrow. "You had to be there," Diana said with a shrug.

"The station in the Kawatche caves is under attack," Jor-El's booming voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Volume, dear," Lara said patiently.

Jor-El resumed at a near human normal level, "I just lost contact with the caves. Before they went off line, I received an image of several humanoids wearing powered armor far superior to anything the people of this planet could produce." A blurry image of a group of people in large, white suits of armor replaced the map of the solar system. From what little Clark was able to see in the picture, it looked like each suit had a different color splashed across their chest and one shoulder. None of them looked like they were wearing helmets, making their heads appear tiny in the large suits.

"I guess that clears up the whole question of whether or not they're hostile," Lois said sarcastically. She looked at the assembled members of her new family. She stepped into the role she had been bred for by her father. "Smallville, Kara, John, you three are the fastest flyers. You head out first. When you get to the caves, figure out what we are dealing with," she ordered. "Diana can give me a lift and we will be following right behind you. We don't know what we are dealing with, but neither do they. Considering Krypton orbits a red sun, our visitors are in for at least two surprises," Lois said. Kara floated a foot off the ground and bowed. She oriented herself toward the exit and shot out and super speed, quickly followed by Clark and J'onn.

Lara watched as her son, niece, and her husband's best friend flew out of the Fortress. Diana picked up Lois and they flew out right after them. "What do you think of our son's choice in soulmates now, Jor?" she asked, clearly impressed by Lois' take charge attitude in a combat situation.

"Her decision to separate Kara and Diana was tactically sound. It kept an extremely strong asset in reserve in case something were to happen to either Kal or Kara," he said. "Her instinctive abilities in warfare are much higher than Kal's. In this situation his choice of soulmate seems to be adequate," Jor-El admitted grudingly.

Lara was saddened by how her son and husband fought, but took this as a minor victory. "Just remember dear, this would never have happened if you would have listened and let me install the emotion chip like I asked you to," she reminded him. "It was your need to control him, rather than guide him with empathy, that drove him away and held him back from reaching his potential," Lara said. "_**It also cost him years of not being with Lois,**__" _she thought sadly.

Tee'ann was mildly disappointed with the caves. They had found a repeater transmitter in a back chamber that had been destroyed easily enough. The rest of the Kryptonian equipment in the caves she had ordered to be left untouched. Tee'ann knew that Kryptonian artifacts fetched a high value on several collectors' circuits. She had attended a few of the auctions in secret herself. What she was disappointed in was the obvious lack of habitation in the caves. "_**If the Head of the House of El is living in this rodent hole, then I wasted a trip for nothing**__," _she thought.

"Captain, 3 inbound from different vectors … _extremely_ fast," her squad leader said. He had black hair like his Captain, but his was cut short.

"Locals, Sergeant?" Tee'ann asked.

"Faster than anything they are capable of at this technology level. If it were just one signature, I would say it was the Manhunter, based off the briefing you gave us," Sergeant Tee'narth said. "But we have 3 and you said there was only 1 Martian left alive," her cousin said with a little less respect than most other crew members could get away with.

Tee'ann wanted to kick him in the balls like she used to when they were kids growing up on the station, but she resisted for two reasons. The first was that Tee'narth might be an ass, but he was a very good marine. The second was they were both wearing armor and the kick would be wasted. "Narthy, if you're scared, you can head back to the ship," she offered. "The legends speak of one Martian being left. They also give us his strengths and their greatest weakness. So set your squad up and prepare to take them out," she ordered. Tee'narth spoke into his suit mic and his squad bounded in leaps of 15-20 feet to get into position.

Clark landed in front of the invaders while Kara came in from left and J'onn came in from his right. J'onn had changed his appearance back to his original green skinned form. Clark was intrigued by the armor being driven by what looked like humans. While each suit appeared to be identical in size and base color, that was where there uniformity ended. Each one had a different design painted on its torso like the bombers of WWII. When he looked closer, he saw they all did have one other thing in common; they all had what looked like a tribal design painted around the upper right arm of the suit. Like the chest piece, each tribal symbol was either a different design or done in a different color. He decided to wait and see what their fist move would be.

Tee'ann had studied the last Heads of El and even without the house colors he wore she would recognize this man standing in front of her as their son. He had Jor-El's facial structure and height, and Lara-El's compassionate blue eyes. She racked her memory and couldn't recall any mention of Kryptonians being able to fly like Martians. Tee'ann spared a glance at Tee'narth and he gave her a hand signal that said he was as confused as she was. The silence was broken by the Manhunter speaking.

J'onn had recognized the shoulder symbols as soon as he landed. "Would someone like to explain why the Tee Family Corporation has launched an attack on a level 4 planet in clear violation of the OA Accords?" he asked.

"Sorry, but I'm not the type to monologue," Tee'ann said as she pointed her arm at J'onn. A huge blast of flame shout out of one of the four barrels mounted on her forearm. The flame caused the Martian to shriek in pain and speed backwards to get out of range. The squad of invaders activated the devices they had buried in the ground earlier causing flame to spring up in a circle around them. "Tee'narth, take out the other two by whatever …" Tee'ann started to say. The large Kryptonian had suddenly appeared inside the ring of fire in front of her. The blonde, female Kryptonian was staying on the other side of the ring.

"You need to leave before someone gets hurt," Clark threatened, his blue eyes radiating anger while his fists clenched.

Tee'narth raised his hand and the handsome, young Kryptonian was engulfed in flames. "_**What a waste**__," _Tee'ann thought, "_**He was really cute and that suit made him look like a god**__." _Tee'narth kept the flames up until his fuel was empty. His flame thrower shut down and Clark looked over at him, completely unharmed.

"Done yet? Because if you're not, I can run back and get some S'mores. Of course if I do, then I'll be tempted to figure out a way to open those suits of yours and find a new use for the S'mores," Clark threatened.

Tee'ann didn't know what a "S'mores" was, but she was certain she didn't want one shoved where the Kryptonian was suggesting. She touched a button on her arm, switching weapons on her suit. She aimed her forearm point blank at his yellow pentagon shield and fired a charged plasma bolt. The concussive blast knocked the armored troops away, sending them tumbling and flailing in all directions. Tee'ann was sent flying into the base of a large tree, uprooting it. The tree fell on her, making it so she couldn't breathe. To make matters worse, some sort of crystal that had been under the tree was now lodged in her armor, poking her in the side.

Kara watched the destruction and when the dust settled, she saw Clark sitting on his bottom in the middle of a blackened circle. "Kal, are you all right?" she yelled right before she super-sped to him. Clark nodded as she helped him to his feet.

Clark brushed off the seat of suit. "That actually knocked me off my feet. It didn't hurt, but I couldn't keep my feet on the ground," he admitted. "It was kind of like an amusement ride," he told Kara with a crooked grin. He looked around and saw one of the invaders was trapped under a tree. "One of them is pinned over there. Let's make sure they don't die on us," he said.

"_**My day just gets better and better**__," _Tee'ann thought as she struggled to breathe. "_**Just my luck! The big one was named after the legendary warrior-statesman that united Krypton**__."_ Her breathing became a little easier as the tree was tossed aside like it was weightless. Tee'ann looked up into the faces of the family she was so sure of beating and prepared herself for the worst. She expected to be pummeled or at the very least lectured by these two super beings. Instead, the big one blinked twice and shook his head like he was trying to clear it. The woman staggered backwards a step.

"Kara … get out of here!" Clark gasped in pain as he collapsed into the hole left by the uprooted tree. He fell on a pile of glowing green crystals. Kara tried to run but she was hit in the head from behind by Tee'narth. Kara fell on top of Clark.

"Grab her and emergency matter transmit the squad back to the ship immediately," Tee'ann ordered as she grabbed a hold of Clark with one hand and one of the crystals with the other. Tee'narth signaled the ship and the invaders flashed out of site along with the injured Clark and Kara.

Diana and Lois arrived at the caves to find the remains of the battle. Trees had been knocked over, the ground was scorched from fire and some other form of explosion, and there were no signs of the El family members or the people in the white armor. Lois and Diana began searching for clues. Lois was the first to find something and what she found turned her blood cold with fear. "Diana, over here," she shouted from next to an uprooted tree. In the hole left by the roots they could see a deposit of green Kryptonite.

Diana had never actually seen Kryptonite before, but seeing the reaction on her friend's face, she knew this was the death rock that could kill her lover. She put her hand on Lois' shoulder. "We don't know what happened here. They may still be alive. We have to keep looking," she said. Lois nodded, unable to speak. Diana leapt into the air to get a better view and saw J'onn laying in a field 100 yards away. "J'onn is over there," she said pointing in his direction. "He looks wounded," she added. Lois sprinted while Diana flew to J'onn's aid.

When they got to the Martian Manhunter, the women found he had received burns across his torso and arms. His breathing was labored and he struggled to remain conscious. "J'onn, what can we do to help you?" Lois asked.

"Meditate … soon … Mars … or die," he coughed. J'onn seemed to get a burst of strength and whispered, "Kal and Kara … green poisoning … they took them …" J'onn hissed through clenched teeth at the pain and his breathing became more shallow.

"Shit!" Lois exclaimed. "I am not losing my fiancé and his cousin to some group of dirtbag aliens! And I will not let them get away with hurting a member of my House!" Lois screamed to the cosmos.

"Agreed!" Diana said with conviction, pledging to Athena that if Kara was seriously hurt, she would repay the aggressors back tenfold. "I'll take you back to the Fortress and we can come up with a way to get onto their ship," Diana said.

"No …" J'onn gasped. "Act quickly … the Arrow's Pegasus…" J'onn shut his eyes and fell into a coma.

Diana frowned. "I don't think Apollo will let me borrow his bow and that stupid horse isn't capable of leaving the atmosphere," she fumed.

Lois snapped her fingers. "Oliver!" she exclaimed. "Diana, we need to get to the watchtower as quickly as possible. We'll hide J'onn in the caves and send Bart or one of the others back for him," she said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

As soon as Diana put her down, Lois took off at a run to the command center of the Watchtower. She found her cousin Chloe working at a bank of monitors keeping tabs on the various members of the Justice League. "Chloe, I need to find Oliver, ASAP!" Lois barked as she strode into the room. "I also need whatever information you can dig up on a project he might have been working on called 'Pegasus'," she ordered.

"I just got in from a mission and am standing behind you," Oliver said as he pushed back his green hood. He lifted his bow and hung it on a pair of hooks next to the elevator doors. "As for the Pegasus project, it's a prototype J'onn and I are tinkering with," he told her. "We designed a fighter craft capable of extra-atmospheric flight so that those of us without the ability to fly and / or survive in a near vacuum can join in the fight if some of Clark's old neighbors show up. It's a blend of Earth, Martian, and Kryptonian technology," Oliver explained. "How did you hear about it?" he asked.

"J'onn told us about right before he slipped into a coma," Lois told him. "The Kawatche caves were attacked by aliens. We found evidence of large scale incendiary devices and other types of explosives used," she said. "J'onn said they captured Clark and Kara. J'onn is burned badly. Diana was only able to carry one of us, so we hid him in the caves," Lois told him. "Send Bart to go get him. He said he had to meditate and something about Mars or death," she relayed.

Chloe looked to Oliver for a stunned second and then slammed a sequence of keys into her keyboard, sending the recall code to all League members. "Watchtower to Impulse, emergency S&R mission in Boy-Scout caves. Manhunter is down and needs evac to Watchtower," Chloe said to Bart on their communications network. She switched to all channels broadcast. "All League members, we have an emergency recall to Watchtower. We have a code-7 emergency in progress! Boy-Scout and Girl-Scout are down and have been captured. I repeat **BOY-SCOUT** has been taken down and captured. If code-7 are encountered do not engage until we know what the hell we are dealing with people!" Chloe nearly yelled into her headset. She put the recording on a loop and set it to broadcast every 5 minutes. Chloe knew that she let a bit of high emotion show at the end of her broadcast, but she was worried for her best friend from high school and for the rest of them. Anything that was capable of taking out the three strongest members of the JLA would be a huge challenge for their human members.

"Diana, Lois, come with me," Oliver said as he grabbed his bow. "Let's go meet Pegasus," he offered. Lois and Diana followed him into the elevator. Oliver pressed his palm to a plate and then keyed in the buttons for the 4th sub-basement.

"You keep a spaceship in the basement?" Lois asked him, intrigued despite her fears for Clark.

"Yeah, Chloe got pissed when I tried to put it together in her living room," Oliver joked. "Actually, J'onn and I have a couple of labs here at the Watchtower where we have people working on things specifically for the JLA," he explained. "It was easier to build it in Sub-4 than ferry parts to somewhere else," he said with a shrug. Lois gasped all of sudden and grabbed the handrail for support. "Lois, are you all right?" Oliver asked in concern. They might be ex-lovers, but Lois was still a very good friend of his and she was also going to marry his best friend. He would always look after her well being. He became more concerned for her when he saw what she did next.

Lois lifted her shirt away from her chest and talked down into her clothes. "Oh, now you decide you want to start working. You know, a little beep or buzz to give a girl warning before you go sliding over her privates would have been nice," she said in annoyance.

Oliver gave Diana a worried glance. Diana simply said, "Wardrobe malfunction." Oliver nodded his head pretending to understand women's clothing issues. "Or more precisely a wardrobe boot-up sequence problem," Diana amended.

Oliver held up his hand to ask a question when Lois' raiment of leadership responded to her earlier request and a loud buzz came from her pants. The elevator doors opened and Lois warned, "Not a word Oliver, not a damn word!" The three of them stepped out of the elevator. Oliver Queen, CEO of a multi-national corporation used the wisdom that kept him in power and kept his mouth shut.

Diana looked around the hangar, taking everything in. The walls on three sides were two stories tall done in concrete. The forth wall was missing and opened up into a long, straight tunnel that went on for miles. The three remaining walls were covered in computers and diagnostic machines. The most obvious thing about the room was the lack of anything resembling a spaceship, plane, or vehicle of any sort. The center was completely empty. At least it was when Diana looked the first time. She looked closer and saw the shadow of one of the pieces of equipment bend slightly at an odd angle. Diana looked in the direction of a light and tracked a dust mote in its path across the room. Near the center, the mote veered off, moving up and over something. "By Athena, it's invisible!" she muttered. She walked forward with her hand outstretched until she encountered the cold, smooth skin of the ship. "You made an invisible jet fighter!" she said loudly to Oliver.

"Um, actually its engine is based on a Kryptonian drive system funneled through a Martian exhaust manifold," Oliver said lamely. He realized he had just confirmed himself as the nerdiest person in the room. To try to save to semblance of respect he said, "I don't have any action figures, I don't have an Empire Strikes Back bedspread, and yeah, we'll call it an invisible jet."

Lois patted him on the head. "I still think you're cool," she said sarcastically. "How many people does it hold?" she inquired.

"Thanks, Lo," Oliver muttered. "It seats 3, but we have a problem. It reacts to thought commands and we had only gotten to the point where it was responding to J'onn as the most powerful telepath. I'm not sure we can even open the damn door, let alone pilot it," Oliver admitted.

Diana looked at the center of the room and projected her thoughts, "_**Hello, beautiful. My friends and I need your help to save the woman I love. Please show yourself so we can save her**__." _A silver ship with swept back wings shimmered into view. A portal opened on the side and a ramp lowered to them. "_**Thank you, dear. We will be ready to leave soon. Begin pre-flight check list now so we will be able to take off as soon as we are ready,**__" _Diana thought. Lights came on along several of the machines near the Pegasus and her engines started a low rumble.

Oliver had been looking at Diana who had been staring in concentration at where the Pegasus was. He was shocked when the stealth field dropped. "How did you do that? None of us were able to communicate with it," he asked her.

"You just have to know how to talk to a lady, I suppose," Diana said as she ran her hand down the fuselage. "Before we leave, I need to change into my battle clothes," she told him. "It will only take a moment. I will have my father Hermes transport them here. I want those who took my Kara to know that it is a daughter of Athena, goddess of battle, who is kicking their ass!" she snarled.

"As long as you're quick," Oliver said. "_**Did she just claim to be the daughter of a Greek god?**__" _he wondered. He blinked and a pile of red, blue, and gold clothes were in her hands.

"Thank you, Father Hermes. I owe you another one," Diana said into thin air. "Where can I change?" she asked. Oliver pointed to a locker room on a side wall. Lois went with her, shifting her shoulders and squirming like something was moving along her back. Bart raced in from the stairs carrying J'onn over his shoulders in a fireman carry.

"Dude, he's hurt bad," Bart told Oliver, worried for his now green skinned friend.

Oliver took J'onn from Bart's arms. "Help me load him into the bomb bay. When we get out of Earth's atmosphere, I can evacuate the air in the bay and the lack of oxygen should help stabilize him," he stated. "We should be able to buy him a little more time that way," Oliver said. The bomb bay doors opened before Bart could reach the panel on the wall that controlled it by remote. "Did you just think real hard about opening the doors, Bart?" Oliver asked. "_**If Pegasus responds to Bart, I'm hanging up my costume**__,"_ he thought.

"Uh … no … actually, I was thinking about that sexy girl who works the register at Talon and how nice her tits are," Bart admitted sheepishly.

"Why doesn't that surprise me that 'Impulse' has sex on the brain," Diana scoffed. "_I_ asked her to open the doors for you two, so if you wouldn't mind, please get the Manhunter secured," she commanded.

Oliver's brain was desperately trying to multitask. Part of it was busy moving J'onn to the bomb bay doors of Pegasus. Another part was admiring at how stunningly beautiful and downright scary Diana looked in her battle dress. His eyes started at floor and moved upwards. She was wearing blood red boots that stopped about 3 inches below her knees. Around her waist she wore a blue, leather armor kilt. At the end of each pleat was a gold button with a different Greek symbol. Had Oliver known Diana's history, he would have understood that she had a gold button for each Greek god that had taken part in her birth. Oliver let his eyes wander upwards to the blood red leather corset that showed off her incredible breasts. The cups of the corset were outlined in overlapping gold that met in her ample cleavage; giving the impression of a letter "W" overlaying another "W" on her chest. The only other things she wore were two large gold bracelets (one on each wrist), a golden tiara, and a lasso that also looked like it was made of gold coiled at her hip. Oliver warred with himself, "_**Don't get a hard-on, don't get a hard-on,**__"_ he chided himself, "_**She'll probably rip it off if you get a hard-on, don't get a hard-on**__."_

"Wow, you are smokin' hot, Diana," Bart exclaimed. _"_When you get back, you want to out for some_fast_food," he offered with a leer_. _

"I'm sure like all fast food, it wouldn't satisfy me and I would hate myself later for having it," Diana replied.

Bart winked at her. "I can wait. Everyone gets the urge for a Big Mac every now and then," he said as he helped secure J'onn into the bomb bay. He finished tying the strap when Diana stepped up to him, looked him up and down, and said, "Maybe a Jr. _cheeseburger_, but that's being generous." Bart stood up straight, but the top of his head only came to her chin.

Oliver laughed at his friends discomfort and he started to forget about his accidental erection. However, it came back with a vengeance and he cursed himself for wearing leather pants when Lois stepped out of the locker room. Lois Lane had shed her earthly clothes and now stood in only her raiment of house leadership as Lois-El, Head of the House of El. She was wearing a red, skin tight one piece suit that covered her from collar bone to foot. The suit was so tight that it left nothing to the imagination. Her boots looked like shiny, deep blue patent leather that came almost to her knees. (Lois was glad to see that instead of heals they were flat soled and comfortable, perfect for walking and fighting.) Her cape was also a deep blue. Instead of being attached to the suit at the neck like Clark's, she wore hers attached by a silver chain. Like Clark, she wore their family symbol proudly displayed in the middle of her chest. Unlike Clark's suit, her symbol was only the outline of the pentagon and the "S" symbol done in silver. The widest point of the pentagon on either side resting an inch from either nipple.

Kara had told Lois that the suit would create itself based off a psychic reading of her and an image of "her true self". She didn't have time to analyze what the nano-machines had been thinking, but she liked the suit, and she was sure that when she got Clark back, he was going to like it as well. "Bart, you're drooling," she said. "_**So are Oliver and Diana. I really like this new suit**__," _she thought. "Saddle up people," Lois said as she walked to the Pegasus and climbed on board.

Oliver had been about to stop her, hoping to convince her to let another meta-human go in her place, but when he saw the determination in her face, he wisely kept his mouth shut for a second time that evening. Diana followed Lois into the ship and Oliver raced after them. He paused at the base of the ramp. He looked back at Bart and shouted, "Take care of Chloe for me if something happens." Bart nodded and Oliver scooted up the ramp.

The ramp closed and soon Pegasus began to hover above the ground. It rotated silently to face the tunnel opening. The ship shimmered out of sight, becoming invisible. Diana was sitting at the controls and thought, "_**Take me to find my lover so we can either save her or rain hell upon those who took her**__."_ Diana got a mental flash back from the Pegasus that either choice would be acceptable with it. They shot through the tunnel and then out into the night sky.

Tee'ann looked down into the brig cell where the two Kryptonians lay. If things progressed as they had since they had transferred back onto the ship, she doubted the pair had much longer to live. She had placed the glowing green crystal she had grabbed, as well as the one that had been stuck in her armor, into the cell with the their two captives. At first, both of them had been conscious, but in pain; however, the female had soon passed out due to the strange radiation poisoning. Tee'ann was impressed by the male leader of the El family. Before he passed out, he was able to maneuver his body between the crystals and the woman in an attempt to shield her from their deadly effects. She couldn't think of any of her family that would do that for her. Her family would be more likely to use her as a shield to gain those few more precious moments of life for themselves. She had to look away when his head turned toward her and she saw that he had not slipped fully into unconsciousness. His face was a web of black veins and his teeth were set in agony. Tee'ann knew that he didn't have the strength to speak but his eyes said everything. They asked her "Why?" "Business, Mr. El. It was never personal. This is just business," she said trying to convince herself and him.

Family Captain Tee'ann walked out of the brig and headed for the lift that would take her to the bridge. "_**It's such a waste. He's so handsome**__,"_ she mused. Her thoughts were broke off when the ship gave a little lurch. "_**What in the name of the CEO was that?**__" _Tee'ann wondered. She activated her communications implant and spoke to the bridge, "Someone want to tell me what just happened?"

"Captain, we're not exactly sure, but we think we were just fired upon," her astrogator said. "We're venting atmosphere from a small blast on the port side from unknown origins," she stated.

"Well Ensign, normally we look for other ships in the area and see if their weapons are pointed our way and that usually gives a clue whether or not we're being shot at!" Tee'ann snapped angrily.

The ensign gulped loudly. "Yes, Ma'am," she replied. "We already thought of that. All scans are negative and there is absolutely nothing along the vector the blast came from," she told her captain. "We …" her sentence was cut off as the ship lurched again, this time in a different direction. "Another hit, Ma'am. This time from aft and above. Still nothing on any of the scanners," the astrogator said with a hint of fear in her voice.

Tee'ann heard the fear in the young Ensign's voice and knew that if the young woman knew what was probably out there, she would probably crap her flight suit. Their family had developed one of the foremost stealth devices in the galaxy. It was sought after by the covert military operations of several planets. It was also a child's science fair experiment compared to what the Martians had been using centuries before her species had reached the stars. Tee'aan's gut told her they were under attack by a Martian craft, and if she was right, the only way to fight it was to fill the area around them with ships and pray that they got in a lucky shot. She activated her communicator implant again. "Scramble the 1st and 3rd fighter squadrons," she ordered. "Tell them to go into tight orbit around the ship and slave their fighters into firing sequence delta-45. We don't want some noob hulling us or another fighter," Tee'ann said. She had thought about sending all three squadrons, but when the ship lurched for a third time, she decided to keep some assets in reserve. Tee'ann ran the rest of the way to the lift and cursed it for its slowness as it made its way to the bridge level.

Diana sat in the pilot's seat and Oliver had taken the weapons and scanners seat which left Lois to take the co-pilot seat. As soon as they had left Earth's atmosphere, they had evacuated the air from the bomb bay and the life reading on J'onn had in fact stabilized as Oliver said they would. When they approached the huge spaceship that had encroached into their solar system, Lois asked a question that had been nagging her since they launched, "I hate to be the voice of reason, since I am the one leading this rescue mission, but does anyone here have any idea how to break into an alien spaceship?" Diana looked over her shoulder at Oliver who looked at Lois and then back at Diana.

"Hah, you know, in all of our training scenarios, we had J'onn take care of that part," Oliver admitted nodding his head. "In retrospect, that was an oversight," he said, his CEO persona taking over. He looked down at his controls, "I vote we just start shooting until something happens and wing it from there."

"Diana?" Lois asked looking for the warrior Princess' advice.

"If we can do it without destroying the other ship, I'm all for it," Diana replied. She maneuvered Pegasus to so she they were lined up with the other ship's port side. "Oliver, if you would be so kind to knock and let them know they have visitors," she suggested. Twin bolts of energy lanced out from Pegasus and struck the Tee Family ship. They watched as the moisture in the atmosphere from the ship turned to sparkling ice as it escaped from the holes punched in the hull. Diana quickly moved their small fighter into a different firing location so that Oliver could "knock" again. They sent a second volley into the other ship and swept around to the rear of the ship to line up for a third. After their third set of blasts into their opponent, Diana was preparing to move into a different position when a hatch on the rear opened and a swarm of fighters came shooting out towards them.

Lois closed her eyes and prepared herself for the inevitable crash. When it never came, she opened her eyes and looked around. Had just one of the enemy fighters gone straight ahead they would have run into them. Luckily the enemy fighters had poured out of the hangar and immediately set off on their individual courses to take up their position around the mother ship. Lois looked at the open hangar doors and grimly smiled. "Oliver, we got their attention. Diana, let's leave these fighter jocks to play with themselves. Take us in," she ordered. Diana had already goosed their acceleration so that they would slide in right before the doors managed to close.

The Security Chief for the Tee Family ship was busy watching the numerous monitors covering the various video feeds from around the ship. His captain had given him strange orders. He was to report any strange activity inside the ship, even if they had not been boarded. He was trying to figure out what constituted as weird when he saw the mechanic with the cute ass walk across the hangar deck. He was watching the other man walk and was taken by complete surprise when the mechanic fell to the ground unconscious. The Security Chief rewound the video and zoomed in. Even though the hangar deck was empty in that area, it looked like the mechanic had struck his head on something, hard. The chief looked to another monitor and zoomed in on the downed mechanic and saw a goose egg forming on the man's forehead. He activated his communications implant and said, "Captain, I think I just found what you were looking for."

Lois took off her cape and draped it across her seat, not wanting it to hamper her when she fought. She nodded to Diana and the ramp lowered to the hangar deck floor. Oliver was the first one out, his bow sting pulled back; his eyes scanning for targets. He looked down and saw the unconscious mechanic on the ground in front of their left wing. Oliver relaxed the bow string and motioned with his head for the others to follow. Lois was next out followed quickly by Diana. As soon as they were out, the ramp raised back into Pegasus. Diana pointed towards a door that led off to a corridor of some sort. Lois nodded her head and they set off at a fast walk. When they got to the doorway, they saw the long corridor had several doors lining each side. A red light started flashing and an alarm sounded in the hangar.

"I guess they know we're here," Oliver said with a shrug. He smiled his perfect smile full of white teeth at the women. "I have a little surprise for our hosts that I think you two will like. J'onn and I set it up for psychological warfare. Diana, would mind thinking 'execute irritate J'onn playlist' back to Pegasus?" he requested. Diana raised her eyebrow, but did as he said. A loud squeal sounded through the hangar and then the familiar voice of the singer Pink and her song **"**So What"came over the hidden speakers on the outside of Pegasus.

__**Na na na na na na na**

** Na na na na na na**

** Na na na na na na na**

** Na na na na na na**

** I guess I just lost my husband I don't know where he went**

** So I'm gonna drink my money I'm not gonna pay his rent (nope)**

** I've got a brand new attitude, and I'm gonna wear it tonight**

** I wanna get in trouble**

** I wanna start a fight**

Diana met Oliver's smile with a large one of her own. She held out her right arm with her hand clenched into a fist. Oliver let go of the bow string for an instant to return the fist bump and then turned his back to the women. Diana looked to Lois who nodded her head once. They both started down the hall on the same foot in time with the music. Oliver kept pace, walking backwards.

The technician that had discovered the location of Earth had heard the red alert and had gone running for his quarters. He left one corridor and rounded the corner to enter the last one before he could enter the lift to get to the correct level. His feet skidded to stop when he heard the rhythmic bass beat coming down the corridor. He looked behind him and said a phrase that translated quite well across most languages in the galaxy, "Oh Shit!" The technician's fear caused his time sense to slow to a crawl. To him, it looked like the three people walking down the corridor were walking in slow motion. He saw two beautiful women, both brunettes, both obviously pissed off walking in the lead. A man dressed all in green carrying some sort of weapon was walking behind them. One of the women was wearing a red skin-tight suit emblazoned with the symbol he had become way too familiar with during this voyage. The technician's hopes began to rise as crew members began filing out of the doors connecting to the corridor. His hopes were dashed soon enough though.

The first crew member to approach the trio of heroes came at them from behind. The technician saw what happened in agonizing slow motion. The mechanic ran at the green clad person with a large spanner raised to hit him. The man in green leather dropped into a low crouch and extended one leg. He spun around and swept the legs out from underneath the mechanic. As the man in green stood back up, he drew back his bow string. At the instant he was standing again, the man in green let loose and an arrow pierced the mechanic's upper leg pinning the mechanic to the floor like an insect in a display case. The mechanic grabbed his leg and writhed in pain, blocking the corridor.

The next attack came simultaneously at both women. The man who swung at Lois was a cook and telegraphed his punch. Lois barely spared him a glance as she parried his punch with her right forearm. She sent a downward sidekick with her right heel into his knee, shattering it, taking him out of the fight. The off duty marine that attacked Diana fared no better. For fun, she let him hit her. When she smiled instead of moving at all, he backed away. She grabbed him and threw him down the corridor, knocking down some other marines who had started to form up at the end. She also managed to mercifully knock the technician out cold.

When they were half-way down the corridor, a security team member popped around the corner and took a shot at them with a projectile weapon (energy weapons being a VERY bad idea on the inside of a spaceship.) Diana stepped in front of Lois and deflected the slug with her bracelet. A second guard appeared and opened up with another slug thrower, forcing Diana to move even faster to block them. Their forward progress halted. Lois heard the twang of Oliver's bow string again and again along with several groans of pain from behind them.

The lift door at the end of the corridor opened and two crew members wearing powered armor stood waiting to exit. "Oliver!" Lois shouted. Oliver spun around and let loose an arrow that flew the length of the corridor. The two armored men covered their faces and then smiled to each other as they realized the arrow hadn't even come close to hitting them. A loud sparking noise and the quick shutting of the lift door told them where his arrow _had_ gone. It was sticking out of the lift controls on the wall next to the lift.

More crew members with slug throwers began to arrive and the lift doors began to tremble as the powered armor suits began to live up to their names. Lois saw a side corridor that was empty and noticed Diana's eyes dart towards it as well. "Go, we'll cover you. Find Kal and Kara!" Diana ordered.

"I'll find them," Lois promised. She tapped her ear where she wore a Justice League communicator. "Let me know when you're done playing with the new kids. Meet up with me as soon as you can," she said. Lois ran down the side corridor in search of her soulmate.

Tee'ann had watched the video her Security Chief had sent her and she had immediately set off the alarm that signaled they had been boarded. She grabbed a slug thrower and headed towards the lift to the hangar deck. She saw two of her cousin's marines in power armor get to it before her and go down. She waited impatiently for the lift to return. When it didn't, she checked the control panel and found that the invaders had managed to short out the entire lift system somehow. "_**The only way they could do that is to shove a huge conductor through the circuit**__,"_ she thought. She headed towards the maintenance hatch and the ladders that would lead her to the trouble below.

Lois Lane ran down the side corridor and found a hatch that led to a cat-walk and a set of ladders that seemed to run the length of the ship. She flipped a mental coin and chose to climb up. Lois had climbed three levels when she heard someone above her climbing down. Lois got off of the ladder and walked silently to the shadow where the cat-walk met the wall. She didn't have to wait long before a strikingly beautiful woman climbed down to her level. She was wearing a white flight suit with a blue tribal design around the right shoulder. The woman had pale white skin and jet black hair. She had the look of a woman that kept in shape by exercising religiously. The woman stopped at the cat-walk and put her hand to her collar-bone. Lois heard a male voice come from the direction of the woman. "Captain, we have two of them pinned down, but we don't for how much longer. The male has a projectile launcher that has some kind of inertial targeting system that is unbelievable and the female is stronger out of a suit than we are in a suit," the man said. "Plus we think there was a third that managed to make their way to the maintenance tubes," the voice told her.

Tee'ann became very still and said simply, "Acknowledged." She pulled her slug thrower out of its holster and glanced out the corner of her eye at the shadow near the wall. She quickly turned her body and her arm towards the shadow and asked, "And who do we have here?"

Lois was waiting for the woman who had been called "Captain" to move. She let her anger and fear for Clark fuel her muscles and she spun on the ball of her foot while she extended the other foot in a spinning hook kick. Lois' aim was dead on and she knocked the gun out of Tee'ann's hand and over the railing to fall to the "bottom" of the maintenance tubes. Before the Captain could react, Lois punched her in the face and shouted, "I'm Lois-El … Bitch!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Before the Captain could react, Lois punched her in the face and shouted, "I'm Lois-El, Bitch!" The punch sent Tee'ann staggering back a couple of steps but she remained standing. Lois equaled the weight on her feet and readied herself for an attack. She didn't follow up the first punch immediately for fear of overreaching and putting herself off balance. She glanced quickly over the side railing and decided balance was going to be the most important part of the upcoming fight.

Tee'ann tasted blood on the inside of her lip where her teeth had cut it when the woman punched her. The captain looked her opponent over, sizing her up. It was obvious from the sexy suit the woman wore that this member of the El family was the other half of the Head of the House. The silver pentagon reflecting between her breasts said as much. The fact that Tee'ann was still alive after being punched like that meant that she was facing a native of this planet, not a Kryptonian. "I'm impressed, Lois-El. As a native of this backwater planet you managed to not only snare the heart of the scion of one of the galaxy's largest trading houses, but you also managed to sneak aboard my ship, disable my lifts, and get the drop on me," Tee'ann praised. "After I'm done kicking your ass, I might just offer you a job," she said nicely.

Lois held up the middle finger of her right hand, a gesture that to Tee'ann's people meant mutual assent. "Screw you!" Lois told her.

Tee'ann was surprised at the suggestion of sex but supposed it must have been the way this planet sealed a deal. "We are agreed then," Tee'ann said, nodding slightly. She pushed off the railing and took up a fighting stance her instructors back on the family space station would be proud of. Tee'ann threw the next punch, a lazy right hook aimed at Lois' jaw. Lois easily blocked it with her left forearm and never saw Tee'ann's left knee come in quickly to strike her right thigh. Luckily for Lois, Tee'ann's aim was off slightly and she missed the nerve cluster she was aiming for. The force of the blow did buckle Lois' leg and cause her to drop to her right knee. From there Lois twisted her torso to the left, driving her right elbow into Tee'ann's abdomen. Tee'ann exhaled with a gasp and Lois slammed her back with a punch to her stomach with her left hand. Tee'ann staggered back several paces while Lois stood back up, favoring her right leg. Tee'ann regained her breath and kicked out with her right leg in a side kick. Lois was expecting a kick and jumped backwards out of range. As soon as Lois landed, she lunged forward and landed a series of punches to the Captain's jaw and stomach.

Tee'ann was forced to give ground by jumping back herself. She took the offensive and launched herself at her opponent. She was able to grab the shorter woman by the arms, pinning them to her side. Tee'ann was about to use a throw her brother had taught her before he had died, when Lois-El used an attack her instructors had never even dreamed of. Lois slammed her forehead into Tee'ann's face, causing her nose to bleed freely. Tee'ann let loose of her grip out of shock and pain. Lois took a step back and then spun on the ball of her left foot, her right foot starting out low. As she spun around and gained momentum, her right foot raised up to the level of her head. Lois completed her spinning crescent kick and connected with the side of Tee'ann's face. Tee'ann was sent sprawling into the side of the railing and then over, her balance failing her.

"Oh no you don't!" Lois yelled as she grabbed the Captain's arm at the last moment. Lois was bent over the railing, hanging on with all of her strength. She braced her feet on the base of the railing and pulled. She managed to drag Family Captain Tee'ann back onto the railing.

Tee'ann lay on the catwalk floor for a moment before she looked up at the woman who had saved her life. The silver symbol on her chest seeming to glow in the dim light of the maintenance tube. "_**Now I see why the House of El was always such a power. They choose their leaders well**__," _Tee'ann thought. "I surrender, Lois-El. As per our agreement, I will work for you," Tee'ann said formally, rubbing the side of her face. She chuckled slightly and inquired, "Do we have sex now or later to seal the bargain?"

"Huh? What?" Lois replied at a loss for words. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked.

Tee'ann looked at her strangely. "Before we fought, I said if I won I would offer you a job. You then gave me the hand gesture than means mutual assent, making the terms equal for me if I lost. After that you suggested we have sex. I then said I agreed to the bargain," Tee'ann reminded her. "I was just assuming that having sex was how your people complete business deals," Tee'ann explained.

Lois was momentarily speechless. "I don't have time to explain this. Call off your crew, or my team will rip this ship apart looking for our friends," Lois ordered. Tee'ann nodded and touched her collar bone.

Diana was holding a marine in power armor by the neck about a foot off the ground. He had an arrow sticking out of the joint where his shoulder plates met his torso armor. Her fist paused an inch from his face when a powerful, but feminine voice came over the ship's intercom speaker. "This is Family Captain Tee'ann to all crew members and family retainers. Cease all hostile acts against the House of El members and those associated with them. As of now, this ship has become spoils of war. It now belongs to the House of El," the captain said.

Diana let the marine she was holding drop to the floor in a heap. She looked over at Oliver who had run out of arrows and had switched to a much smaller crossbow. "I guess the Captain of this ship has met Lois," Diana said with a smile. If she hadn't been involved in a relationship with his cousin, she would have given Kal-El a run for his money concerning a certain Brunette reporter. Diana pointed to Oliver's ear. "Call Lois, my communicator fell out. I think I accidently squashed it with one of those," she said pointing to an unconscious marine in power armor who was lying upside down in a corner.

Oliver bent down and craned his neck around so he could look upside down. "_That's_ going to hurt when he wakes up," he muttered. Oliver straightened up. He tapped his earpiece and asked, "Lois, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, Green Arrow, I have the captain here and she is going to take me to Kal-El and Kara-Zor-El," Lois told him. "I'll get them and meet you guys back at the Pegasus," she said.

"This is Family Captain Tee'ann to all crew members and family retainers. Cease all hostile acts against the House of El members and those associated with them. As of now, this ship is has become spoils of war. It now belongs to the House of El," the captain's voice said throughout the ship.

Tee'narth couldn't believe his ears. His cousin Tee'ann had surrendered to the House of El. He knew as Captain of the ship it was her right, but as a marine, it was his duty to protect Family business interests. He knew that the House of El was a threat and Tee'ann had botched this mission. He knew how to fix this and secure a double stock share in the process. He ran to the bridge and shoved the engineer out of her seat. He pulled out his slug thrower and kept the rest of the bridge crew at bay. At the engineering console he dumped their coolant for the FTL drive, stranding them in the system. Tee'narth then ran to the brig, only two levels below them.

Tee'narth walked into to the brig section and opened the door to the cell holding the two Kryptonians. The sensor readouts showed that they were barely clinging to life. Tee'narth picked up the two crystals lying on the floor and walked over to the unconscious prisoners. He kicked both of them over onto their backs. Tee'narth placed a glowing green crystal on each of their chests, right above their hearts. He then took their hands and put them on top of the crystals to hold them in place. Within seconds, the black veins crept further along their bodies and their breathing stopped. Tee'narth smiled in satisfaction and ran to the maintenance tube that led to the captain's yacht, the only ship now capable of FTL travel.

Tee'narth made it to the yacht and disengaged the holding clamps. He fired the thrusters and shot away from the Family ship as fast as he could. He needed to get out of the system so he could make the jump to FTL travel. When the CEO heard about him killing the male half of the Head of the House of El, she would understand why he stranded his crewmates. She would send a rescue ship and strip Tee'ann of her shareholder's status. Tee'narth sat back and smiled smugly to himself, confident in his plans.

Lois and Tee'ann had climbed several levels to reach the level that housed the brig. When they entered the brig, Tee'ann saw immediately that something was wrong. The doors to the brig and to the prisoner's cell were both wide open. Tee'ann ran to the open cell and looked inside. She saw the crystals placed on their chests and screamed, "NO!" She ran to the console on the wall and activated her security code. She brought up the video feed and rewound it to see who had disobeyed her orders. She watched in horror as her own cousin betrayed her. She checked the ship's other readouts and saw the engine sabotage and the theft of the yacht. Tee'ann began to cry at the betrayal of her and her crew. She knew what Tee'narth was doing and how the CEO would react. Tee'ann would lose her shareholder status and never leave the Family station again.

Lois ran into the cell and grabbed the crystals. She tossed them into the cell across the way. The blackness left Clark and Kara's veins, but neither one started to breathe again. Lois felt for a pulse, first on Clark and then on Kara. Her tears fell freely when she felt no pulse. "_**We just started our life together. How can it end so soon?**__"_ she mourned, "_**What am I going to tell Diana? She's going to dismantle this ship, bolt by f**king bolt. Do I even want to stop her?" **_Lois reached down and gently stroked her lover's cheek. She bent down and kissed his lips softly and whispered, "I love you, Smallville. There are so many things we are going to miss. Fights, make-up sex, you making me breakfast in bed, watching sunsets together, more sex, … kids …" Her voice failed her and she rested her forehead on his. "_**Sunsets … sunsets … sunsets**__," _her subconscious poked at her over and over again. Lois sat up suddenly. She jumped up and ran to a sobbing Tee'ann.

"What is the fastest thing you have onboard that can transport them?" Lois demanded, pointing back at Clark and Kara.

Tee'ann snapped out of her self-pity. "I … I … don't know. Normally I would say this ship itself, but we are dead in the water thanks to my idiot cousin," Tee'ann replied.

"This ship won't work for what I'm planning," Lois said. "I need something really fast that I can destroy," she stated.

"If you just want to destroy something, why not use a couple of our hyper-velocity missiles," Tee'ann offered.

Lois liked the sound of that. "How fast are they and can we stick them inside of one?" Lois asked excitedly.

Tee'ann wondered what the rush for funeral rights were, but decided to play along with her new employer. She thought about what Lois had asked her. "Hyper-velocity missiles are ship to ship missiles that travel at 1/10 the speed of light. Their warheads are filled with water which can't be compressed very much. At that speed, the kinetic energy will tear through anything and the water acts like a knife through wet splekta," she explained. "If we empty the water tank, we could fit both of them inside it," Tee'ann stated.

"Get one set up as soon as possible and have Kal-El and Kara-El put in it," Lois ordered. Tee'ann nodded and went to the wall terminal to give the orders, being a little too complex for her collar bone mounted communicator. When she was done, Lois grabbed her arm and said, "I need you to take me to my friends and then to where this missile is going to be fired from."

Diana, Oliver, and Lois stood over the missile holding their loved ones. Lois had a difficult time restraining Diana, but once she had explained her plan, the Amazonian Princess consented to hold off on the mass execution until after they saw if it worked or not. Lois had retrieved her cape from the Pegasus and had draped it over Kara, knowing that if her plan succeeded, Kara's Earthly clothes would be destroyed. They shut the access panel and a technician locked it down. Lois gave him the firing pattern she wanted and he put it into the computer. Tee'ann looked at on the screen and nodded in approval. "_**An appropriate funeral right for the mate of such a remarkable woman**__,"_ she thought. Tee'ann looked at Lois and waited for the order.

"Fire," Lois said, praying she was right. Tee'ann pressed the button herself and the missile shot out of the tube, racing towards the Sun on its 80 minute flight. Diana turned to face Tee'ann, scorn written all over face. "I must know. Why did you do this? Why did you take my Kara away?" she asked.

Tee'ann knew this was coming. "It was never personal. It was only business," she replied. She saw Diana clench her fists and take a step forward. "Business that my family needs to continue to survive," Tee'ann said softly.

Oliver's ears perked up. "Business? Explain," he said.

Tee'ann took a deep breath. "The House of El was one of the largest trading houses in the galaxy. When Krypton fell, their shipping contracts were up for the taking. A few of the smaller families like mine were able to get a hold of some choice routes. When our clients hear that the House of El has risen from the ashes, they will pull our contracts and give them back to you," Tee'ann explained.

"But …" Lois started to say, but was silenced by a hand motion from Oliver.

Oliver took off his dark glasses and pulled back his green hood. Tee'ann was shocked by his brilliant blonde hair. Her branch of humans only had dark hair. Oliver flashed her his perfect white teeth. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Oliver Queen. I'm the CEO of Queen Industries and the business manager for the House of El," Oliver stated. He put up his hand to cover his mouth and whispered to Lois, "We can do the family swearing in ceremony later." Oliver dropped his hand and walked towards Tee'ann. "Do you have a way of communicating with your home office?" he asked with all of the Queen charm he could muster.

Tee'ann looked at Oliver in awe. Their family legends spoke of warrior CEOs and now she was face to face with one. He was also exotically handsome. "There is a direct link communications terminal in my cabin," Tee'ann said. "_**I hope he wants to seal the business deal with sex**__,"_ Tee'ann thought hopefully.

Tee'ann led Oliver to her cabin where she sat him at a desk and keyed in her communications code. A hologram sprang to life above the table showing a swirling ball of tribal designs. Tee'ann keyed in the emergency code for a direct link with her grandmother, the CEO. Soon, a distinguished woman in a white jumpsuit with a gold design around the shoulder appeared. "Captain Tee'ann, I know you and I know you would never use this channel frivolously, so let's get down to business. Tell me what is going on," the CEO of the Tee Family Holdings said.

"Ma'am, I need to introduce you to someone. Tee'arc, CEO of the Tee Family Holdings, I would like you to meet Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Industries and the business manager for the House of El," Tee'ann said formally. Tee'arc paled, and looked to Tee'ann to see if she was playing a prank on her grandmother. The look in her granddaughther's eyes told her she was deadly serious.

"Oliver Queen, I wished I could say it was a pleasure, but …" Tee'arc held her hands out palms down. Tee'ann closed her eyes in sadness. She opened them again when she heard Oliver's upbeat tone.

"I can understand your fear, Madame CEO, three of us did just take over one of your ships. However, I think we can come to an understanding that makes that fear unjustified," Oliver said confidently. "Your beautiful Captain here, and I do see the family resemblance by the way, has explained to me your companies concern about the shipping contracts," he stated. "You are afraid that we will step in and take back the contracts that by law are still ours," he said. He was guessing on the last part, but judging by the downcast look the other CEO gave him, contract law was similar no matter where you went. "Your clients will probably leave even faster when they hear that we took over a ship with only three people," he told her, baiting the trap. "However, I have a solution that works for both of our families interests," he said. "When word of the House of El's return hits the galactic media, there will be a clamor for us to take up our shipping business. Currently the House of El has other priorities. For a share of the profits, we are willing to subcontract _all_ of those request to the Tee Family, granted they transport under the El Family name of course," Oliver offered.

Tee'ann was speechless. She did the calculations in her head and even with splitting the profits 50-50, the additional contracts would bring in 10 fold what their current projected yearly earnings were. She looked at her grandmother whose shocked expression told her that she had done the same calculations. "Oliver Queen, are you fully authorized to make this deal?" Tee'arc asked him.

Oliver thought back to the papers Clark had signed making him his investment broker. "Yes, Madame CEO, I am. Like Captain Tee'ann said, I am the business manager for the House of El," he stated. "Kal-El has delegated running the business side of the House to me," he told her.

Tee'arc bowed and said formally, "CEO Oliver Queen, it is with great happiness and hopes of good fortune that the Tee Family Holdings enters into this trade agreement with the great House of El." Tee'arc looked down at her desk and read a message. "Tee'ann, I just received a message from your cousin. The fact that the House of El is still willing to do business with us after what he did only goes to show why they have survived as power for so long," she said. "Tee'narth will be dealt with, I assure you. I will send a repair ship out to your location immediately. However, based upon how you have handled this situation, I am taking your ship out of the contract rotation until further notice," Tee'arc stated.

"Yes, Ma'am," Tee'ann said timidly.

Tee'arc's face softened and for a moment she looked like a grandmother. "Cheer up, my little profiteer. You're being promoted, not demoted. I am assigning you the post of official liaison to the House of El. Your new position will come with four extra shares," Tee'arc told her granddaughter. Tee'arc looked at Oliver. "I will have my legal team draw up the documents and send them to our liaison's ship as soon as possible. You were right, Mr. CEO, my fears were unfounded," Tee'arc said as she closed the connection.

Tee'ann looked at Oliver, smiled, and unzipped her jumpsuit. "Shall we seal the bargain, Mr. CEO?" she asked.

Lois stood on the bridge and watched the screens. "Lois-El, the missile is approaching the chromosphere of your star and will be losing its shielding at any moment," the astrogator told her. Lois watched the blip on the screen disappear, showing the missile had disintegrated. Lois prayed silently that her plan would work. Tee'ann had joined her on the bridge.

As the missile broke apart around them, the two Kryptonians tumbled towards the Sun. Kara's clothes burned off instantly. The cape from Lois' raiment of leadership was slightly confused. It had placed on a family member by a Head of the House and now that family member was naked. Its programming said it couldn't read the young woman's mind and come up with a suit based on her true self because she was not a current Head of the House. It registered the presence of its mate floating in space nearby and created a design based from it. Because it was not a full suit, it had to make some adjustments and cover what it could with what little material it had to work with. The blue cape rippled and flowed around Kara's body. It split and then split again and again as it formed the different parts of her suit.

Clark felt energy rushing into every cell in his body. The House suit channeled the Sun's energy and spread it to the areas he needed it the most. He came to full consciousness and snapped his eyes open. Clark saw his cousin Kara tumbling slowly towards the Sun. Her eyes opened and she looked at him. She smiled at the strength that was coursing through her body. She never felt this much energy before. Her smiled faded when she remembered what had happened during the last 24 hours. Clark motioned with his hands towards the general direction of Earth. Kara floated to him and took his hand. She oriented herself towards Earth and they shot towards it at half the speed of light.

A science technician was monitoring her instruments and slammed her hand down on an alarm. She showed her readings to the Captain who activated the ship wide intercom button and said, "All hands we have inbound hyper-velocity missiles. Estimated time to impact is 16 minutes. Prepare escape pods." Tee'ann turned to Lois. "Ma'am, I have no idea where those came from. We have never seen a missile that could go any faster that 1/9 the speed of light," she stated. "The ones inbound are coming in hot at ½ the speed of light. At that speed, the kinetic energy will vaporize this ship. We need to get you and your friends out of here as soon we can," Tee'ann said.

Lois' hopes flared, a smile starting to form. "Where did these missiles originate from, Captain?" she asked.

"Directly coreward, the star of this system is masking any sign of the ship that launched them," Tee'ann replied. The weight on Lois' heart lifted and she felt like she could finally take a full breath.

"You can turn off that alarm now, Captain," Lois said happily. "There is no other ship. You are no danger," she told her. "Open your hangar doors, we will be having guests soon," Lois said. She turned and strode to the now working lift. "Come along, Captain. I want you to meet my fiancé," she ordered.

Oliver stood behind a clear window looking into the open hangar bay. He was joined by Diana, Lois, and Captain Tee'ann. He was wondering what he was going to tell Chloe. His thoughts were disturbed by an announcement from the bridge, "Captain, the missiles have … slowed down," the tech said incredulously. Oliver's heart stood still as he watched his friends fly into the hangar bay. They rotated and began floating towards them upright. Excess energy from the Sun bled off them in the form of electrical discharges that leapt from them to the deck, walls, and ceiling. Both El family members had their arm folded across their bodies in a show of extreme displeasure at being killed. Oliver looked at the Head of the House of El and his cousin, blood relations, and finally understood the phrase "royally pissed off."

Diana looked at her lover and her heart swelled with relief. A small part of her mind also noted that she loved the new outfit. Like her cousin Kal-El, Kara was now wearing a blue top with their family symbol in red on a yellow pentagon on her chest. The edges of the pentagon rested at the tips of her nipples. Her top however only went halfway down and exposed her flat stomach. She wore a red skirt that came down to mid thigh. Her red boots stopped mid shin. Her cape was like her cousin's just smaller. Diana watched her beautiful girlfriend's face turn quickly at the hiss of air being sent into the hangar to pressurize it.

As soon as the hangar was pressurized, Lois and Diana ran out to greet their lovers. The stern looks on the Kryptonian's faces melted away as they touched down and wrapped their arms around each their mates. Diana held Kara to her and nuzzled her hair. She whispered through tears of joy, "I thought I lost you, love." Kara looked up at Diana and kissed her passionately.

"Welcome back, Smallville," Lois said with her arms tight around Clark's chest. Lois forced herself to break away. She motioned for Tee'ann to come forward. "Kal-El, this is Captain Tee'ann, our liaison to the Tee Family Holding group. Our business manager, CEO Queen, has negotiated a settlement where the Tee Family will handle all of our shipping duties while cutting us in for a part of the profit," Lois explained quickly. Clark looked over and saw Oliver step out from behind the glass wall, still wearing his Green Arrow costume. Clark was confused as to what had happened while he was unconscious, but decided to roll with the punches.

"Actually, Kal-El, it was Lois-El who forced the negotiation after she took over the ship," Oliver laughed. Clark beamed down at his fiancé.

Lois remembered the injured member of their family. "Kal-El. J'onn is injured. You and Kara need to get him to Mars," she told Clark. Diana thought to Pegasus and the bomb bay doors started to open. "Once you have him tucked in, come back to the farm. I've had a rough day," Lois told him. Clark bent over slightly to kiss her cheek. While he was there, Lois whispered in his ear. "When you get home, we can play find the release on the suit. It's not in the same place as yours," she said in a sexy, sultry voice. Clark blushed a little and went to help lift his friend out of the bomb bay. "Ok, my team, mount up," Lois said. Diana and Oliver climbed the ramp into the Pegasus. Lois climbed the ramp halfway and looked at Clark.

Clark had J'onn in his arms. He turned to look back at Lois and said, "You did a great job, Lois-El. See you back at home."

The hangar was again evacuated of air and the doors opened. The Pegasus rose smoothly and turned around. It was escorted out of the ship by two blue clad figures carrying a family friend. Once they were clear of the ship, the Pegasus angled towards the Earth. Clark and Kara sped off to Mars. On the way back to Earth, two of the passengers couldn't wait to get back and see their lovers. The third was dreading seeing his. "_**What am I going to tell Chloe?**__" _Oliver thought. "_**How do I tell her I made love to seal a bargain even after I explained that isn't how we do it on Earth?**__"_


	12. Chapter 12

Author Notes: This rest of this fic deals with time hopping and takes place during several different time periods.

******House of El******

**Chapter 12**

**Kent Farm -2010**

Lois Lane walked out to the barn in a pair of blue jeans and one of Clark's red, flannel shirts. She had tied the extra length of the shirt off at the side to keep from swimming in it. Lois was taking care of the morning chores because Clark had gone off to Mars to check on their friend J'onn J'onzz. A month ago, J'onn had been seriously injured in the fight between the Tee Family and the House of El. The short war ended with the Tee Family Holdings Company surrendering and then becoming the official shipping firm for the House of El. The arrangement caused Tee Family profits to skyrocket. J'onn even gave the Tee Family the command codes to an orbital brewery that they had captured after the fall of Krypton. With the brewery back on line, "Phantom Zone" was back on the market.

Lois grabbed a feed bucket went to work feeding the horses in the barn. Shelby trotted over to her and she gave the golden colored dog a friendly scratch behind the ear. While she did this, Lois thought back to the return flight to Earth after Diana, Oliver, and she had saved Clark and Kara. Lois and Princess Diana of Themyscira had been excited about getting home and making preparations to see their lovers again. Diana was obviously head over heels for the Kryptonian blonde and Clark couldn't have been happier for Kara. During the flight, Lois had noticed Oliver's uncharacteristic silence and asked him what was wrong. Oliver hadn't been able to meet her gaze and explained how he and their new liaison to the Tee family had sealed their business deal.

Lois had been tempted to have Diana stop Pegasus, the invisible fighter jet, and have Oliver walk the rest of the way home. The fact that they had just entered the Earth's upper most layer of atmosphere only made the idea more appealing. Nobody, but nobody hurt her cousin Chloe and got away scot free. Before she could show Oliver the airlock, Lois was finally able to look in his eyes and saw the pain dwelling there. She realized there was nothing she could do to him that would be worse than how he was beating himself up inside. She turned around and remained silent for the rest of the journey home.

When Oliver had gotten home, he confessed everything to Chloe. She was heartbroken and tossed him out of the apartment. Chloe had refused to speak with him since that night other than for official JLA duties. Lois wondered if they would ever be able to patch things up, or if they would even be able to be friends again. She got her answer in a very unusual way.

Lois had started to head back to the house to continue work on the wedding planning for her and Clark's upcoming nuptials when she heard a strange electrical discharge coming from behind her. Small lightning bolts were emanating from a place near the center of the barn. An instant later, three teenagers - two boys and a girl- stood huddled around a small object. One of the young men had his back to her and was partially obscuring the other two. The one she could see clearly was dressed in the green leathers of Green Arrow with a futuristic looking bow slung across his back. He was also similar in build to the original Green Arrow, Oliver Queen. Lois' heart sank when she looked at him. Two things she saw let her know that Chloe and Oliver did not stay together. The young man had Oliver's almost white blonde hair, but with a streak of black on each side of his head starting at the temple and running back to meet at the base of his neck. That alone wouldn't be enough to convince her, kids today dyed their hair, but the other thing confirmed it. His leathers were identical to his father's except for the Tee Family tribal design that circled his right shoulder.

"I don't know, John. Your dad is the one with all the history with the Legion. Does it look like one of their rings to you?" the new archer asked.

The other young man who Lois couldn't see said, "It's similar, but the markings are little different." He paused and asked, "Did either of you feel anything odd just a moment ago?" The other two shook their heads no. The young man suddenly pushed his friends away. "One thing I do know is that the Legion's rings don't normally leak glowing blue stuff. Get back!" he shouted. A bright flash filled the barn and the second boy vanished.

Lois gasped loudly. The green clad youth turned to look at her and smiled sheepishly. The young woman stepped out from behind him, waving hello. She was as tall as Diana with sandy brown hair. She was dressed in the battle raiment of Themyscira. Her boots and skirt were bright red. Her leather corset was the blue of Clark's suit instead of the blood red of Diana's. On her wrists were bracelets similar to Diana's, but the girl had one silver and one gold instead of a matching pair of gold ones. On each bracelet was engraved the "S" symbol for the House of El.

Lois had only caught a brief glimpse of the other boy. She had been able to register that he had been wearing a red top of some kind and blue pants. He had dark hair like his father. That he was Clark's son; there was no doubt in her mind. His voice reminded her of the when they first met.

The young woman was the first to speak. "Hi, Aunt Lois. Did you do something different with your hair?" she inquired.

The green clad youth rolled his eyes and muttered, "Cassy, I think we are pretty much caught here." He smiled at Lois and said, "Mrs. K, we can explain everything and we're pretty sure John will be back any moment now." Lois noticed he had blue eyes like his father.

Shelby figured the electrical storm was over and crawled out from under the workbench. The young man looked quizzically at Shelby. "Mrs. K, when did you get a dog?" he asked. "I thought you were allergic to them. You told John you guys weren't going to get another one after Shelby died," he said.

Shelby walked over to the young woman and sat down next to her, waiting to be pet. Cassy knelt down and gave him a good rub down. She took his name tag in her hand and read it. "Oh no … Junior, this _is_ Shelby," she exclaimed.

"Oh … shit," Tee'Oliver muttered.

******House of El******

**Kent farm – 2004 -The summer before Clark's senior year. **

Martha Kent went about the farm doing her chores. She had finished feeding the horses and was about to leave the barn when a ripple in the air followed by blue electrical discharges reached out from a point in the middle of the barn. A teenage boy suddenly appeared and the electrical storm dissipated. He was looking at his hands, turning them over and back again as if he was looking for something. The boy looked to be about 18 years old. He was as tall as Clark and looked like he could have been his brother. They shared the same black hair and muscular build. He was just an inch or so shorter than Clark and his face was more slender. The young man was wearing blue jeans and bright red leather, motorcycle jacket. The jacket buttoned up on the left side of his chest. "Hello," Martha said uncertainly.

"Oh, hi Grandma," the boy said cheerfully. He looked around franticly from side to side. "Where's Cassy and Junior?" he asked. "Crap! It was that weird ring. I thought I pushed them away fast enough," the young man berated himself.

Martha wasn't sure what shock she was reeling from, the fact that a teenager had just materialized in her barn or the fact that he had insulted her by calling her "Grandma". She didn't look a thing like a grandmother. "What did you just say?" she asked him indignantly.

The young man looked at her and gave her another smile so like her Clark's. He then spoke in something near a shout. "Sorry, Grandma. Did the battery in your hearing aid go out again?" he inquired. His grandmother had lost a substantial part of her hearing during her third term as a US Senator. A terrorist group had set off a series of bombs at the Capital Building. His father had been able to take care of most of them so that there was no loss of life, but one went off and left Martha Kent partially deaf. "Hey, did you color your hair? It looks great!" he stated, walking towards her.

"**_Little jerk! How dare he just show up and keep insulting me, calling me old?"_** Martha thought. "I don't know who you are or how you got here, but you are in my barn and I would appreciate some respect," she told him. She used the same voice she used on Clark when she was mad. Just a slight change in cadence and Clark knew he was done for.

"**_Oh crap! Grandma is going mental. I never thought she would go into dementia like this_**_," _the young man thought nervously. He walked towards her slowly, all thoughts of his friends out of his mind. One of the women he loved most in the Universe needed his help. He stopped suddenly as his super hearing picked up the sound of footsteps running towards the barn. They were too heavy to be his mother's and his father was off planet brokering a peace treaty. He quickly ran to put himself in between his grandmother and the door where the footsteps were almost at. He put his arms out to his side to shield the frail woman behind him.

Martha fought down her fear when the boy charged at her. Her fear turned to confusion when he ran past her and took up a defensive posture behind her. She turned around and stared in shock at his back. Even though she had never seen this particular one before, Martha recognized a Kryptonian symbol when she saw one. The teenager who looked so much like Clark had a black pentagon that stretched between his shoulders blades. Inside the pentagon was what looked like a letter "S" that touched all five sides of the pentagon. Martha's hand seemed to reach out against her will and touch the symbol. The teen turned his head to look at her. Again the smile that reminded her so much of her son. Her fear returned when she heard the door opening. She was only able to yell out a partial warning as the bearer of the footsteps came inside the barn. "Jonathan Kent …" she called out.

The blonde farmer in work clothes and the young man said in unison, "What?" Jonathan "John" Kent turned his head around quickly to look at who had entered the barn and then froze. Even though the man had been dead for several years before his birth, he knew the man from pictures. He was looking at his grandfather, the man he was named after. Jon-El staggered to the steps leading to the loft that had become his "Fortress of Solitude". He sat down hard, stunned.

Jonathan Kent quickly went quickly to his wife and made sure she was ok. "Honey, are you all right?" he asked.

"Oh man, Dad is going to be so pissed," John said in a whisper, shaking his head. "He always said never pick up odd looking rings after a fight," he moaned.

Martha looked at the stunned boy. Even if he was a rude little turd, her heart went out to him. She saw the look in her husband's eyes and saw his huge heart had opened up for another stranger in need. Jonathan walked over to the boy and put his callused hand on his shoulder. "Son, are _you _all right?" he asked.

John looked up at his grandfather unable to speak. His father had told him so many stories of his grandfather, he had taken on a near mythical status in the young man's mind. "**_What do I say to a legend?_**_"_ he thought. "**_OK, John, get a grip! You're Lois Lane-Kent's son. Ask questions, figure out when you are, and then how to get back now that the ring is gone!_**_" _he told himself. "Ok, this is going to sound really strange, but I have to ask. What's the date?" he asked his grandparents.

Jonathan and Martha looked at each other. "Nothing too weird about that. It's Friday, August 6th," Jonathan said reassuringly.

"Um, ok … what year?" John went on.

Jonathan looked at Martha who just shrugged her shoulders. "2004," he told him. Martha and Jonathan watched the boy's eyes grow wide. "Why don't you start with your name, son. Can we get a hold of your folks for you?" Jonathan offered.

John took a deep breath. He never was any good at lying to his grandmother, so he decided the truth would be the best. They would figure out how to fix things later. They _were_ Kents after all. He smiled at them and turned to face Jonathan. "You're probably not going to believe this, but _my_ name is Jonathan Kent, or Jon-el depending on who I'm dealing with," he stated. The older Kents gasped at the Kryptonian name and the implication of his last name. "**_And calling my parents won't work since I won't be born for several years_**," he thought. "**_Besides, they both live here at the farm anyway._**"

"Wait a minute. Are you trying to tell me that you're Clark's son?" Jonathan said in disbelief. "You're a little old to be the child of _my_ 18 year old son," he pointed out. John flashed him a smile and super sped out of the barn and into the farm house. He grabbed two folding chairs out of the attic where his grandma had always stored them. He poured two glasses of lemonade and then super sped back to the barn.

Jonathan saw the boy flash away and then return as fast as Clark could move. One of their folding chairs was behind Martha. He looked behind himself and saw John had set one up for him as well. There were two glasses of lemonade on the workbench where there had been none before.

John walked over to the tractor and lifted it up with one hand. Jonathan Kent sat down in the chair that had brought for him. John put down the tractor. "This is going to sound weird again, but where is my dad?" John asked. "It's going to be real awkward meeting him while we're the same age," he stated.

"He went up North," Martha said, not fully trusting the young man yet. Martha looked closely at the boy and for the first time noticed his eyes. Unlike Clark's sapphire blue, John's were a deep brown.

John noticed his grandmother staring at his eyes. "People say I have my father's good looks and my mother's eyes," he told her. John smacked his forehead with his hand. "Crap! She doesn't know his secret yet. Is she in town?" he inquired.

"Is who in town?" Jonathan asked.

"My mom, Lois Lane," John said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He went back to sitting on the steps that led to the loft.

Both older Kents let out a sigh of relief like they had escaped a fate worse than death. "Thank god!" Jonathan exclaimed. Martha just nodded her head in agreement. They watched the confused look on John's face. "We were worried you were going to say your mother was Lana Lang," he chuckled. Jonathan laughed even louder at the look of revulsion that came across John's face.

"Eeeew, eeeew, eeeew! That isn't even funny," John exclaimed. He looked like he had just swallowed the most bitter drink imaginable. Jonathan watched in amazement. He had seen Clark make the same face several times growing up when they forced him to try new foods that he didn't like.

"Why are you telling us this? Isn't there some time travelling rule about telling people in the past about future events?" Martha asked, ever the practical woman.

"Beats me," John replied. "This is the first time I've ever done it and it was by accident," he admitted. "We found the ring after we stopped some bad guys who were attacking Metropolis. I told you guys about it because I need help and well … Kents help people. It's what we do," he said sincerely.

Jonathan got out of his chair and joined John on the steps. He put his left arm around John's shoulders and offered him his right hand for a handshake. John took the offered hand and shook it. Jonathan was all smiles as he said, "It's not everyday that a man gets to meet his grandson. It might be several years premature, and to you I probably already said it; but to me this will be the first time. Welcome to the family Jonathan Kent." Martha saw a single tear slide down the boy's face before he hugged his grandfather. She wondered what had brought it on.

The three Kent's stopped what they were doing when they heard the sound of tires crunching gravel. Martha got out of her chair and looked out the barn door. "It's Chloe," Martha said in hushed tones. John took off his "work" jacket and hid it in the chest up in the loft. He was wearing a red tee-shirt underneath it. Martha's mind raced on how to explain the boy who looked so much like her son. She whispered a hasty plan and the men went to work.

Chloe saw the barn door was open and figured Clark was probably inside. She had come over to ask him if he wanted to go with her and Lois to the lake. She walked into the barn and found Martha Kent holding two glasses of lemonade. Mr. Kent was showing Clark how to stack hay in the corner. "**_Why would Clark need to relearn that? He's known how to that his whole life_**_,"_ she wondered. The young man turned and made a motion like he was wiping sweat off his brow. She saw it wasn't Clark, just a very handsome boy their age who looked a lot like him. Chloe stepped close to Martha and whispered, "Who is that?"

"He is a relative on my side of the family. He had to leave home suddenly and we offered to put him up until he can get back. His name is …" Martha thought quickly, "John Clarkson." Chloe got the impression that it was a family matter and she shouldn't pry.

"Thanks Mr. Kent," the boy said. "I knew I was doing something wrong there," he said with a good natured laugh.

"Call me Jonathan. It's all in the wrist. Don't worry you'll get it soon enough," Jonathan replied.

"Boys, lemonade, and we have a visitor," Martha called out. The two men walked over grinning and took the offered glasses. The same ones John had poured just a little while ago.

Chloe studied the young man and started noticing all the differences between Clark and him. John's stance was more self assured and relaxed. His face was shaped differently and he smiled more readily than Clark did. Instead of blue eyes, John had warm brown eyes that you could melt into. Chloe had the strange feeling she had seen those eyes somewhere before but she couldn't place where. She smiled at him.

John stared at the young woman in front of him. She was wearing blue jeans and a loose yellow tee shirt. She wasn't wearing any makeup. Chloe was much prettier than he had realized. Her pictures had not done her justice. Like his grandfather, Chloe Sullivan hadn't been around for his birth.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Daily Planet – 2023 AD**

Lois Lane-Kent sat at her desk, her body trembling in nervousness. There had been a major battle in Metropolis and her son had been involved. The battle had ended over 12 hours ago and neither he nor the other two members of the terrible trinity (as the JLA members had joking called them growing up) had checked in. Lois picked up a framed front page that had the first photo of the three friends in action. After that day, their team was just called Trinity by the New Watchtower. She smiled wistfully as she remembered the events that had led up to the photo.

The first amazing thing that had happened was the birth of Lois and Clark's first child, Jonathan Samuel Kent. They had to use the Fortresses' advanced technology to accomplish the feat. The Fortress, under the guidance of both the resident AIs, had extracted some of her eggs. It had then altered the few strands of DNA that separated human from Kryptonian, creating a Kryptonian egg. Once that was done, the altered eggs were transferred to a specially built chamber below the Fortress where no sunlight could enter. There, Clark's sperm was introduced and the eggs were fertilized. The _In vitro_ fertilization occurred in the room as well; making sure that the embryo would not be exposed to the super power inducing yellow sun until after birth. Lois Lane had eventually given birth to a healthy, squalling baby boy they named after their fathers.

Cassandra Kent was a different story all together. Her birth was by supernatural means. The goddess Aphrodite looked down and saw the love between her daughter Diana and the woman from the stars, Kara-Zor-El. The women had been married in Aphrodite's temple on Themyscira. One night, Athena, goddess of wisdom, had come to her sister and told her of a plan she had come up with to reward their daughter. Aphrodite was pleased and had Hermes contact the other three gods that had contributed to Diana's birth. The next morning, the six gods stood in a circle with the two women standing in the center, looking lovingly in each other's eyes, completely nude. As soon as the sun rose above the horizon, a warm light surround the group on the beach and then faded. Kara and Diana looked down and saw that they held a beautiful, baby girl in their arms. At their feet were two bracelets like the ones Diana wore. One gold for her Themyscirian heritage and one silver for her Kryptonian half. The El family crest had been branded into each bracelet by Hephaestus himself.

Tee'Oliver had been the only member of Trinity born by "normal" means. After the disappearance of her cousin Chloe, Oliver had slipped into another deep depression. It took the combined love of his friends to drag him from the brink of oblivion. Gone was the carefree playboy of his youth. In his place, a somber archer stood who secretly loathed himself and harbored a deep death wish. The only sexual relationship Oliver had was an on again off again relationship with Tee'ann, the Tee Family liaison. It was the result of this relationship that healed his soul. One of their trysts had produced a son. Tee'ann the boy after his father.

Tee'Oliver was the center of his father's universe. He brought laughter back into Oliver Queen's heart. Tee'Oliver, or Junior as he was called by friends and family, was raised on Earth with the other two children and the three were nearly inseparable.

Lois shook her head as more memories came flooding to her as she worried about her son and the children she thought of as her niece and nephew. It wasn't long after his 15th birthday that John had learned how to fly. He had spent his birthday money from "Uncle" Oliver on a red, leather motorcycle jacket. Lois should have guessed what was up when she never saw him wear it. After a few months, she noticed John sneaking out. She talked to Kara and Oliver and had them keep a watch on their children. Lois hadn't told her husband due to his over-protective nature. The next night Oliver called her in a near panic. His new bow was missing along with a suit of his Green Arrow leathers. Lois contacted Kara who confirmed that Cassy was missing as well. Lois comforted the other parents. "The apple doesn't fall very fall from the tree," she reminded them.

Clark had gotten word something was up when another paper had run a story about the possible return of the Red/Blue Blur. He handed the paper to Lois and asked her if she knew anything about it. Lois shared her suspicions and Clark was furious. Lois reminded Clark whose son John was and told him to relax. Clark had taken a deep breath and exhaled. He never was able to stay mad at her for long.

While trying to decide what to do about their son, Bart had run into the room and handed Lois a flash chip from a camera. He had managed to get a photo of the kids in action. Lois looked at it on her computer and tingles ran down her spine. She immediately ran the photo up to her boss, Perry White. When Perry looked at the photo, he asked her if she knew the names of the new superheroes, since she was the official media liaison to the JLA.

Lois thought quickly about it and decided to tweak her son's nose a bit. He deserved it for sneaking out to save the world after all. She would use the nick name she had given him the moment she had first held him. She would use Cassy's nickname as well. "The one in red is Superboy, obviously. Look at the symbol, Perry. The young woman is Wonder Girl," she told him. She hadn't a clue what to call Junior.

"What about this new archer guy here?" Perry asked her. "He looks like the Green Arrow, but he is using some sort of new fangled bow and has those sci-fi symbols drawn on one shoulder," he pointed out.

Lois knew a good name when she heard it. "Wow boss, you called it. You must be getting psychic in your old age. His name _is_ 'The New Archer'," Lois told him. Perry green lighted the story and cleared the front page for the next day's edition. The headline had been simply "New Superheroes". The photo was of the robot attack the night before. Tee'Oliver was in the lower left corner of the picture, his bow drawn. One robot was down with an arrow sticking out of its neck joint near him. Cassandra was in the upper right corner of the photo. She was flying and in the process of ripping one of the robot's head off. In the center of the photo was John. He was crouched on one knee and had his arms wrapped around a small child, protecting her. His head was turned to the robots and twin beams of red were cutting through a metal torso. From the angle of the camera, half of the now famous El family crest was visible on the back of his red motorcycle jacket. The story had earned her another Pulitzer's prize.

Lois put down the photo when Clark walked into the office they shared. "Any word?" he asked hopefully. Lois shook her head and wrapped her arms around her husband's chest. She sobbed silently until she realized they weren't alone. Diana, Kara, and Oliver were just outside the office. From their puffy eyes, Lois knew they had all been thinking the worse as well. The only super powered family member missing was J'onn J'onzz who had refused to answer their calls. Clark had checked his apartment in Metropolis as well as his cave on Mars; J'onn was nowhere to be found. It was as if he was deliberately avoiding any contact with them.

Wind started whipping through the office. A small white orb appeared in the bullpen and then expanded rapidly. An instant later three people were standing there; all of them wounded. Clark ran to keep his friend, Rokk Krinn, from falling to the ground. Clark looked over the others and saw Saturn Girl, Imra Ardeen, holding her head. Her eyes looked like they weren't focusing right. Lighting Lad, Garth Ranzz, had a new scar from when the last time Clark had seen him. The scar ran across one eye and ironically was in the shape of a lightning bolt. He was holding his left arm, which was clearly broken. They looked maybe a year or two older than when Clark had first met them.

"Kal-El, you have to stop the children!" Rokk pleaded.

"Rokk, wait, please!" Imra begged him. "We don't know what this will do to our time stream. If we interfere we could cause a paradox and destroy our world," she begged.

"I don't care! We have lost too much to those bastards and now they have used technology stolen from us to go back here to destroy! I won't let that happen, not this time!" Rokk stated. "Clark, where is Trinity?" he asked. Rokk finally looked at his idol and saw the pain in his eyes. He quickly looked to the others assembled in the basement of the Daily Planet and saw the same pain. "Oh god, we're too late. They killed them," he sobbed, tears flowing from his eyes. Emotions that he had kept inside since the start of the war poured out of him. They had lost too many Legionaries, too many friends, during the war. "Can you take me to where they fell?" he asked quietly. "I would like to pay my respects," he told them.

The assembled House of El, minus J'onn J'onzz, stood at the lip of a crater where a building once stood. The devastation was tremendous, but Clark had been through worse. He had seen John go through worse. He wondered what evil from the future had been able to overcome the combined might and skill of his son, Wonder Girl, and the New Archer. Clark had super sped back to Smallville and picked up their daughter, Elizabeth Chloe Kent. He and Lois both needed the touch of their youngest child.

The crowd was silent until little El-El tugged on her dad's hand and asked innocently, "Where is Johnny?" She tapped the side of her head. "Johnny isn't here anymore," she said in a matter of fact tone. Since she had been born, she had shared a form of telepathy with her brother. One of the "little" modifications Jor-El had snuck in while he had been altering Lois' eggs.

Clark was crushed. Her statement only confirmed things. He began to x-ray the rubble to find their remains. He swung his head from side to side. His motions became larger. He sped off and soon Superman was flying over the city doing a grid search with his x-ray vision. A few minutes later, he landed and changed back into his clothes as Clark Kent. He walked back to his daughter and kneeled in front of her. He looked at her quizzically. "You're right sweetheart, Johnny isn't here," he told her. Clark stood and faced the others saying, "Neither are Cassy or Junior."

A beeping sounded behind them and J'onn J'onzz materialized out of the shadows. "Finally! You have no idea how hard it is to hide from you folks when you really want to find me," he said. He was holding three green cylinders with gold caps on each end. They were marked in Martian symbols. Two of the cylinders had open tops. The beeping sounded again and the top of the final cylinder slid open.

"J'onn where have you been, and what are those things?" Lois asked, her curiosity taking over, helping her deal with her loss.

"Like I said, I was avoiding you. It was because of these," J'onn stated. "These are Martian time lock message tubes. Once they are locked, they can't be opened until the correct time and date without the contents being destroyed. I have had these three for quite a while," he told the group. "The odd thing is the words 'keep these' written on the outside. It's in my handwriting and I don't remember ever writing them," the Martian Manhunter said. "The first one opened two days ago and told me I was to not interfere with the upcoming battle and to not have any contact with the family until Clark said those particular words," J'onn informed them.

"**_OK, that's weird. Even by our standards_**," Lois thought. "What do the others say?" she asked him.

J'onn turned the tubes over and two slips of paper spilled out. He caught them in his other hand and looked at them. A rare smile crossed his face. "I believe these are for you, Rokk," he said as he handed the papers over to Cosmic Boy.

Cosmic Boy scanned the papers and his shoulders slumped in relief. He sat down on a nearby piece of debris. "These are two sets of temporal coordinates. Looks like I have a pickup to do in 2010 and one in 2004. I'm also supposed to have Lois say 'I want to kiss Lana Luthor' for some reason. Look it says so right here," Rokk said and pointed out the instructions to Lois.

"You have got to be joking? I would rather lick a cat's ass," Lois replied. "But if it is for John, then here it goes … I want to kiss … Lana Luthor," she forced out, gagging at the end. As soon as she said it, the post-hypnotic triggers left behind in her, Martha Kent's, and J'onn's minds released the memory blocks that had been in place. Memories that had been hidden for so many years flooded back. She laughed in joy, even at the really awkward ones. Martha Kent smiled wistfully as she remembered the time John spent with her and her husband. Martha looked over at Lois and snickered at a particular memory.

Lois ran over to J'onn who was nodding his head. She hugged him fiercely. Martha and Lois locked eyes and a secret smile crossed their lips. Lois turned to her family. "We have to get these Legionaries back to health as soon as possible," she said. "Our kids are alive and will need their help," she told the stunned group.

******House of El******

**Kent farm – August 2004**

Chloe realized she was staring at the new boy on the farm. She blinked a couple of times and looked at Martha. "Um … is Clark around? I was going to see if he wanted to go swimming at the lake," Chloe said.

Martha glanced quickly at her husband. "Clark went camping and we don't expect him back until Monday," Jonathan replied.

"Oh …" Chloe said a little disappointed. She looked over John Clarkson again and thought maybe she could salvage the trip and have some eye candy at least. "If the Kents can spare you, do you want to come along, John?" she asked him.

The Kents looked back at their grandson with wide eyes, their backs turned to Chloe. They both mouthed "no" to him. "Sure, I would love to go," John replied. "I'm sure Clark has some trunks I can borrow," he said.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "**_As strong willed as his father_**_," _he thought. Jonathan put his hand on John's back and pushed him towards the barn door lightly and said, "Come on, I'll show where Clark keeps them." Chloe turned around and headed to her car.

When John neared Martha she whispered to him low enough that only someone with super hearing could hear, "I bet you give me trouble as a toddler." She smiled at him when he nodded.

John winked at his grandma and whispered low enough Chloe couldn't hear, "You have no idea. You'll babysit me and Kara's daughter together all the time."

Martha watched his retreating back in shock. She had had a hard enough time keeping up with Clark. "**_What on Earth am I doing watching two super powered toddlers in the future?_**" she thought. Martha caught herself at how strange that question was and shook her head in wry amusement. She headed to the house to keep an eye on the boys.

As soon as they entered the house, John headed up the stairs and went straight to Clark's room. Jonathan was taken aback by this at first and then reminded himself that the boy must have come over here all his life. He walked up the stairs after him and stood in the doorway as John opened up the correct drawer the first time. John noticed his grandpa watching him. "Dad still keeps his swim trunks in the upper right drawer," John explained. He squeezed past Jonathan and headed to the bathroom to change.

Jonathan was still slightly stunned every time this 18 year old boy referred to Clark as his father. "So in the future do you not take my hints either?" Jonathan asked good naturedly. Had he been blessed with x-ray vision like his son or grandson, he might have seen John close his eyes in sadness and lean the back of his head against the wall. When he didn't get a response Jonathan knocked on the door and asked, "Are all right in there, John?"

That snapped John out of his temporary sadness. "Yeah, grandpa. Sorry about earlier, but I just couldn't resist a chance to get to know Chloe Sullivan. My parents have told me so much about her," John replied. Outside in the hallway, Jonathan's quick mind picked up on what the boy hadn't meant to say. Chloe wasn't around for John to get to know. He closed his eyes in sadness and leaned the back of his head against the wall. A mannerism Clark had adopted.

Jonathan couldn't imagine Chloe being gone. "**_She is so full of life. I can see why John would want to get know her_**_,"_ Jonathan thought. The door opened and John was wearing a pair of Clark's blue swim trunks. He still had his red tee shirt on. Jonathan reached over and tussled his grandson's hair. "Go have fun," he ordered.

John walked outside and saw Chloe's VW had its hood up. Chloe was bent over looking at the engine. "**_Wow, nice ass_**_!"_ John thought and then berated himself for thinking of his second cousin that way. He walked over to her and peered in. John had about zero idea what he was looking for; internal combustion engines were obsolete in his day.

Chloe noticed the cute guy's closeness. "It has been overheating ever since I ran over a big log a while ago," she explained. "**_A log a meteor freak threw at me_**_,"_ she added silently. Chloe watched his face to see if he would make some sexist comment about women drivers. She noticed he was looking in the wrong area for the radiator. "You really have no clue about engines do you?" she asked as tactfully as she could. She hoped she hadn't bruised his fragile male ego too much.

"Busted. These things… " John laughed as he made a sweeping motion with his hand to her motor. "I'm pretty useless with, but give me a fully electric motor with regenerative braking and I'm your man," he said.

"**_Oooooh! Cute and nerdy, this guy has potential,"_**Chloe thought.

"Hey John, do you know how to drive a stick shift?" Jonathan asked his grandson. Martha looked at her husband like he had gone insane. She let go of her doubt when she saw the hint of pain in his eyes.

John looked at his grandfather and shrugged his shoulders. "What's a stick shift?" he asked.

Jonathan tossed a set of keys to Chloe. "You drive. Take Clark's truck. He rode my motorcycle to go camping," Jonathan fibbed.

Chloe looked down at the keys in surprise. "Thanks, Mr. Kent. I'll have the new kid home before too late," she promised. Chloe and John climbed into the truck.

The truck drove off and Martha turned to her husband. "What's with the change of heart?" she asked him.

Jonathan took a deep breath and was barely able to keep the sadness from creating a tear. "I was talking to John and he let slip that he has never met Chloe. He also said that Clark and Lois have told him stories about her. That's the type of thing you say about someone who has died, Honey," he explained. Martha thought about the young woman who she thought of as her daughter, and nodded; understanding why he had tossed the keys to the kids. "Any grandchild of mine deserves the right to get to know Chloe Sullivan," Jonathan decreed.

John was ignoring the discomforts of the ride in the truck. The truck was using hydraulic shock absorbers unlike the magnetic ones he was used to. He succeeded most of the time in not rolling his eyes as he listened along with Chloe to a "pop" station. In his time, all of these songs were considered "classic pop", a style he hated. He was hooked on the really old stuff his mother liked, like Whitesnake. The only thing that made the trip bearable was Chloe. She had kept up a running dialogue of the town and what she was planning on doing during her senior year. He loved the way the sun glinted off her hair. He loved the way she blushed when she caught him looking at her. He found her embarrassed smile adorable. John shook himself and reminded his libido he was related to her.

Chloe was pulling into town and caught John watching her again. He was smiling the same charming smile Clark got only once every so often. The smile that was backed by not only charm, but self-confidence. "**_Good thing were headed to the lake, because I need a serious cool down!_**_"_ Chloe thought. She pulled into the Talon parking lot. John craned his neck to look at the old façade. He had never seen it before the remodel. "I have to get another person. I'll be right back," Chloe told him. John just nodded and mumbled ok, still fascinated by the Talon.

Chloe went inside and found her cousin drinking a coffee in one of the tables by the front window. "Hey Cuz! Ready to go swimming?" she asked Lois.

"You bet," Lois replied. She glanced out the window and saw the red tee shirt and black hair in the truck. "I guess we do have to bring the farm boy if we are taking his truck. It does have more leg room," she stated. Secretly, she was hoping to see more of Clark's body like she had the day she had found him naked in a corn field. She rushed out of the café before Chloe could tell her it wasn't Clark.

"**_Oh, well_**_," _Chloe thought, "**_She will figure it out soon enough_**_." _Chloe made her way around the front of the truck to the driver's door.

John watched Chloe walk around the truck. His eyes were glued to her and only heard the other door open. Lois had opened the door and saw that Clark was letting Chloe drive for some reason. "**_Oh well, he can ride on the hump. Now if he will only move that cute butt out of my way I can get in_**_,"_ she thought_. _ Lois tilted her head to the side and got a wicked smile on her face. She reached over and pinched Clark on the butt while saying, "Move over, Smallville, daylight is wasting." Her fingers hurt after pinching him. She figured she must have pinched his wallet by mistake. Even so, she got a result from him. It wasn't the one she was looking for, but she got a result.

John was smiling at Chloe and had offered her a hand to help her into the truck. He suddenly felt someone pinching his impenetrable butt. He turned around to see who it was. He heard her speak at the same time he saw her. His mom had just tried to goose him. John let out a heartfelt yell of terror, "Aaaaagh!"

The young man had turned around and Lois was looking into brown eyes instead of the blue ones she was expecting. Her realization that she had just tried to goose a complete stranger and his yell of terror caused her to yell as well, "Aaaaagh!"

Chloe just sat there laughing her head off. She was laughing so hard, tears were streaming out of her eyes. Had she been able to see clearly, Chloe would have seen a perfectly matched pair of the dreaded "Lane look of death" being shot her way. A look the son had picked up from his mother at a _very_ early age.

******House of El******

**Kent farm – 2010**

"Someone want to tell me what is going on here?" Lois demanded. Shelby recognized her tone of voice and left the barn. Out of habit, she started her questioning with the blonde man in green leather. "Let's start with you leather lad, what's your name and where are you from?" she inquired. "Don't worry about all the time travel crap. I did it myself once," Lois said in rapid fire mode. She decided to go for a bluff, considering they had acted like they dealt with her often. "Oh, and I guess I don't have to tell you I will know when you aren't telling me the truth?" Lois asked them. Her bluff paid off when both teens nodded their heads; acting like they had heard that line before. Lois could tell from the looks on their faces they believed her.

Cassy broke the silence when she laughed, "Leather Lad?" She smiled at her friend. "I always told you she could have chosen a worse name for you than the New Archer. At least it's better than the ones she gave me and John," Cassy told him. She looked at Lois. "In the future, when you get pissed at John for sneaking off to save the world, don't take it out on us, ok?" she asked. Lois liked this fiery young lady.

The boy moved until he was standing in front of Lois. He held out his hand. "My name is Tee'Oliver Queen, but my friends and family just call me Junior," Junior said. "My friend here is the lovely Cassandra Kent of Themyscira, but she only hears that name when one of her mothers is mad at her. Normally she goes by Cassy," he stated. "We are from your future, so we can't tell you too much more," Junior said.

Lois shook his hand. "The other boy who was standing here; who was he?" Lois asked. The two newcomers looked at each other trying to decide exactly what to tell John's mother.

Their decision was made for them when Cassy's face became blank and she said in a far away voice, "We tell her everything. We won't be able to get John back without the aid of the Head of the House of El and the Watchtower." Her expression became normal and she saw the other two looking at her. Junior had walked to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He helped her sit down on the stairs leading up to the loft. "Grandma?" she asked Junior. He nodded his head. Cassy looked at Lois. "On occasion, Athena likes to drop hints about my situation," she explained. "She said it was because I was her favorite half-alien granddaughter," Cassy joked. "What did she say?" she asked Junior.

"She said we needed the help of Mrs. K and the Watchtower. She also said to spill the beans with her," he told her. Junior sat down next to Cassy, making sure she was all right. Communication with a deity was very draining, even for her. Cassy turned to him and gave him a small smile.

"Normally Grandma's messages aren't so clear and concise," Cassy told Lois. "The guy you saw go poof was your son, Jonathan Kent, but we all call him John," she told Lois. "The world calls him Superboy thanks to an article you wrote. The same article labeled me Wonder Girl and Junior as the New Archer. The JLA code name for our team is Trinity," Cassy explained. "We were fighting some aliens in Metropolis and things kinda got hairy for a while. We ended up having to drop a building on them," she admitted sheepishly.

Junior took over. "Seriously, John and Cassy dropped a whole freaking building on top off them," he said when he saw Lois' skeptical expression. "When the fight was over, the aliens just vanished. We were examining the battlefield for any kind of evidence that would show us who they were when I found a ring," Junior said. "It looked similar to the ring the Legion wears. It was damaged on one side. I handed it over to John because you guys have had more dealings with the Legion than the rest of us. You know the rest," he said with a shrug.

"**_I'm going to have a son. One who disobeys his parents, sneaks out at night, and gets in trouble with his friends; all so he can save people. I guess Clark and I really will be good parents_**_,"_ Lois thought with pride. He was yet to be born, but she felt her love already starting to grow for him. "Of course I'll help, but working with Chloe will be the tough part," Lois told them. "She recently went through a bad break-up," she said and then noticed Junior look away and clench his jaw. "I don't think it would be a good idea for her to see you two. I'll go to her and get her working on her computers on finding John," Lois said. "Until we do, you two should stay in Smallville and try to blend in," she ordered. Lois had a thought. "Why don't you guys go to the lake while I visit with Chloe," she suggested. "Kara left some clothes that should fit you, Cassy, and I think that some of Clark's old things should be ok for you, Junior," Lois said. "Before you guys go, I have two questions. The first is do you have a photo of John that Chloe can use with her computers?" she asked.

Junior fished out a small black device out of his pocket. "Do you have a digital storage device?" he asked.

"I have a thumb drive in my purse. It's on the table, let me go get it," Lois replied. There was a blast of air and blur of motion. Cassy was standing with Lois' purse in her hands. Lois took the purse and handed the thumb drive to Junior. He touched his small device to the thumb drive once and handed it back to Lois.

"Your little drive now has about 500 of his pictures," he said. "I hope one of them works. John is kind of a ham at times," Junior warned.

Lois held the device safely in her hand. "The other question is … do either of you know how to drive?" she asked them. Cassy looked a little sheepish.

"Part of the training my dad put me through was how to drive just about anything. I even learned how to drive a manual transmission. Mr. K even let me borrow his old truck sometimes," Junior said proudly.

Lois fished out a set of keys from her purse and tossed them to Junior. "That's good; because I'm letting you drive the same truck. You can't be any worse than Clark," Lois joked. The teens headed off to the house to change while she got in her car. "Be careful you guys," she said before she drove away.

Lois walked into the command center of the Watchtower and found Chloe buried in her computers. "Hey Cuz!" Lois said cheerfully.

Chloe looked up from her screen. "Hey yourself," she said. Lois thought she looked better than she had seen her in weeks. "What brings you to my lofty and romantically doomed domain," Chloe asked with a hint of the smile she usually wore. It warmed Lois' heart to see her cousin finally starting to mend.

"This is going to sound crazy, but I got a visit from some time travelers today in the barn," Lois said.

Chloe laughed once. "That place is temporal grand central station," she joked. "Was it one of the Legion?" she asked.

Lois paused before answering. "No … they were three teenagers from not too far in the future. The Legion ring knock-off they found malfunctioned and sent them here," Lois replied. "The malfunction got worse and one of them pushed the other two away from the danger. We don't know what happened to him," Lois said. She was having a hard time getting the words out. She knew that John hadn't even been born yet, but her maternal instinct had taken over.

Chloe noticed Lois' reaction. "What aren't you telling me, Lo? Who are these kids?" she asked.

"Chloe, the one who disappeared is named Jonathan Kent," Lois said softly.

Chloe gasped and caught on immediately. "My god! What can I do? The Watchtower is at your disposal, especially for your son," Chloe promised.

Lois handed Chloe a thumb drive. "One of them transferred some photos of John onto this. I was hoping you could load them up and do a facial recognition scan through the city's security cameras," Lois told her.

Chloe put the drive into the USB slot and the computer went through a moment of having new protocols installed. After a minute, her computer chimed to let her know that all 500 photos had been downloaded. Chloe checked their file size and was astounded at their compression to actual size ratio. She pulled up the most recent photo to see if it would be of any help while Lois paced the room behind her. When the photo appeared on her screen, Chloe just stared. She reached up and gently touched the screen. "My romantically doomed domain …" she repeated softly. "Lois I found him," she said sadly.

Lois ran over, amazed at how fast the computers had located John. Chloe was standing, blocking the monitor. She gave Lois her innocent, "it's not my fault" shrug. "What is it, Chloe? Where is John?" she asked.

Chloe gritted her teeth and slid away from the monitor so Lois could see a picture of her son, Jonathan Kent. Of course, six years ago they both knew him as John Clarkson. Lois swallowed. "Now this is awkward," she said.

"Well, at least he was a lot better at hiding his powers than Clark ever was," Chloe offered.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Outside of Smallville on the road to Crater Lake - 2004**

"_**OK, it's official, this is NOW the most uncomfortable ride of my life**__," _John thought. He had caught Lois sizing him up out of the corner of his eye. To get his mind off of his mom checking him out, he focused on Chloe. He relaxed a little and unknown to him, he smiled just slightly.

Lois Lane had gotten over her initial shock at the screamer sitting next to her. She thought he was cute. Actually, when she admitted it to herself, he was extremely handsome. If it weren't for his uncanny resemblance to Smallville in his looks and mannerisms, she would have found him very attractive. As it was, his likeness to her new verbal sparring partner landed him in the securely in the "Friend Zone." She did wonder if the new guy could take the banter as well as Smallville did. She noticed how he was looking at Chloe. "_**This could have potential. Smallville can't see what's right in front him with Chloe, maybe dating this guy will make him jealous enough to ask her out**__,"_ she mused. Lois decided to start the conversation out with something simple, music.

"So Farmer John, this your taste in music? Because it's kinda girly," Lois jabbed.

"I don't think there is anything wrong with a guy being in touch with his feminine side," John said automatically. John had been raised by possibly the strongest woman on the planet and spent a great deal of his youth on the Island of Themyscira as one of only three males allowed there. Lois and Chloe were surprised by his response. "But no offense to Chloe, this wouldn't be my first choice in stations. I'm more of a Whitesnake sort of guy," he said.

"You are luck, Johnny Boy!" Lois exclaimed as she reached into her bag and pulled out a CD case. She handed it to John. Chloe rolled her eyes and switched the stereo to CD mode. She knew when she was outnumbered.

"_**Huh? So this is what a CD looks like. I always wondered,**__"_ John thought. He tried to put the whole thing into the slot, case and all. After a few tries, Lois took the case out of his hands slowly. She opened it up with equal slowness and took the disk out. The whole time she was looking at him like he was some sort of madman. Lois slid the disk into the loading slot.

"They not have CDs where you come from?" Lois asked.

"_**Crap! Think, John, think. What did they call those other music players?**__"_ he asked himself. "Uh…not really…we switched everything over to CP3 players at my house quite a while ago," he improvised.

"_**OK, that's a little weird**__,"_ Chloe thought. "_**Not Wall of Weird worthy though, thank god. I just want one weekend where I can relax,**__" _she mused. "You mean MP3 player don't you? CP3 sounds like that droid from Star Wars," Chloe chuckled. John gave her a blank look, not getting the reference. "_**What kind of nerd, ok really well built nerd, but nerd none the less, doesn't get a Star Wars reference**__,"_ Chloe thought. John was saved from further questioning by the stereo blasting out Whitesnake tunes. He breathed a sigh of relief and let the music his mother used to put him to sleep with wash over him.

Chloe was trying to keep her attention fully on the road, but sensing motion out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head slightly to glance at her passengers. Lois and John were both rocking out. At a particular point in the song, they raised their arms in unison and smashed on imaginary symbols at exactly the same time. Chloe cleared her throat and decided to invoke a family rule that would allow her to change music. The two others looked at her when she got their attention. "Sorry, there are just too many drummers in this truck. Time to switch music," Chloe said. John looked at Lois and then at Chloe. He winked at Chloe and switched to air guitar, complete with head banging. Chloe kept one hand on the wheel and punched John in the arm with the other. John remembered to flinch and say "ouch".

Chloe pulled into the parking lot of Crater Lake Park. They would have to walk to the trails for another ¼ mile before they could reach the lake. Even with this hike, they expected the lake to be packed. Kansas was having its usual hot spell during August. Temperatures were hovering around 100 degrees for most of the state. John grabbed his towel and the large pack that held their sodas and sandwiches that Chloe had packed earlier. The women carried their towels and swim suits.

They made it to the shore and were pleasantly surprised to see it was merely busy instead of packed shoulder to shoulder. They walked to the far edge of the beach and put their towels down near some large boulders than ran down into the water. John took off his shirt and tossed it near the pack he had been carrying. Chloe leaned back in awe. She thought he was well built, but she hadn't guessed he would be chiseled like a Greek god. Chloe led Lois away to the changing rooms and left John hunting for a sandwich.

"Did you see that?" Chloe asked Lois in the changing room.

"See what?" Lois teased. "All I saw was Farmer John take off his shirt," Lois said. Chloe gave her a disbelieving glance as she changed. "Sure he could give Adonis an inferiority complex, but he really isn't my type," Lois said. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm not _his_ type either," she added.

Chloe stopped in mid-motion as she put on her orange striped cover up. She recovered and pulled the cover up over her purple bikini. "Wow Lois, your gaydar must be more highly tuned than mine, because I didn't pick up any of those vibes," she replied. "I mean there was that feminine side comment, he couldn't tell a radiator from a carburetor, and can talk for over an hour without mentioning sports once," Chloe said. "Oh who am I kidding, he's gay," Chloe moaned disappointedly.

Lois laughed and gently shoved Chloe after she finished putting on her small, red bikini. She always chose not to wear a cover up. "Even though you make a pretty convincing argument, that isn't what I meant. I meant he isn't into gorgeous, tall brunettes with great legs," Lois laughed. "From what I saw in the truck, it looks like he is into short, sassy blondes," she told her cousin.

John was munching on a sandwich and looking around the lake. Not much had changed in his day. In his time, the dock had been replaced and the concession stand had been removed to bring the place back to a more natural setting. He realized that in about a year's time, his mother would be at the same lake and almost die, nearly exposing his father's powers. Luckily, she would be saved by Arthur Curry. Lois and Arthur would have a brief fling and then go their separate ways. His mom would remind AC of this and bemoan about the one that got away at holiday gatherings. This always got a laugh from AC and his long term boyfriend. AC had come out of the closet a few years after John had been born. The memory caused him to chuckle. Lois and Chloe walked up at that moment.

"Care to share the joke?" Lois asked. John looked at his mother to be and just laughed louder. Chloe shrugged her shoulders.

John got himself under control. "I'm sorry, I was just remembering a story my mom would always tell. You standing there reminded me of her," he said truthfully. Lois dismissed him with a wave and headed to the water. Chloe took a seat next to John on her towel. "Are you not going to swim?" John asked.

"Probably later," Chloe said, "but for now, I just want to enjoy the warm sand and relax." She lay down on her side and propped her head up with her elbow. "So tell me about yourself, John. Do you swim?" she asked, starting off with an easy question.

"Yeah, I do. In fact my parents taught me swim in a place just like this," John replied. Clark and Lois had taught him to swim near the very boulders he was resting against. He remembered using them to support himself when he thought he would go under. Lois had pulled him gently off of them and helped him float.

John's eyes had unfocused slightly and he had a wistful smile on his face as he remembered his past. Chloe liked the way even the smallest smile made his face look kind and gentle. The little reporter lurking in her mind was waving its hand waiting to be called on. Chloe gave in and tried to figure out was bugging her. She realized that John was speaking of his parents with love and warmth and that didn't jive with a troubled teen that had to leave his house suddenly. Her reporter instincts kicked in and she decided to pry into family matters anyway. "What's your story, John? Why are you really here?" she inquired.

John's smile fell from his face and was replaced by a look of loneliness. Without thinking about it, he closed his eyes and rested his head against the rock. Chloe could see he hurt on his face. Oddly, she had seen Clark do the exact same gesture when he was full of grief. "I can't really say too much about it, Chloe. I wish I could. I wish I could tell you everything, but I'll tell you what I can," he offered. Such serious words coming from a young man her own age caused Chloe to sit up and lean in to pay more attention. "My two best friends and I had just helped take care of some bad stuff," John told her. He swallowed as he tried to go on. He had tried not to think about what had happened and what it might actually mean. "Something happened and we were taken from our families. We were together for a little bit and I think they made it back to my family, but I was taken away again," he said quietly. John looked up at Chloe. He was barely holding back his emotions at the thought that maybe he hadn't pushed Junior and Cassy away in time and they were trapped in some other time like him. He would have gladly given his life to protect them. "I don't know if I will ever get to see my sister, my real parents, or my friends ever again," he told her. "Please don't tell the Kents that I told you. They worry enough about me as it is." he begged.

Chloe didn't know what to say. She doubled checked what she had heard against her reporter instincts and they gave him a clean bill of health. He was telling the truth. She was deeply touched that had had chosen to confide in her rather than tell her it was none of her business. The only thing she could think of to explain his story was that he and his friends were in some sort of witness protection program. "**'**_**Helped take care of some bad stuff' he said**__," _Chloe thought, "_**They must have tried to something heroic against the mob or something and now they are paying the price.**__" _Her heart went out to John. She reached over and laid her hand down on his.

The kind gesture was too much for John at the moment and he had to blink back a tear. He got up suddenly and said, "I think I'll hit the water." He walked down to the waterline and dove in.

Lois walked up to Chloe and grabbed her towel. She dried off the excess water on her hair and tossed the towel back on the ground. Lois looked at where John was swimming. "What happened? I saw you guys talking and all of sudden the screaming farmer jack rabbitted to the water. You poke him with a hot wire or something?" Lois asked.

Chloe smiled at Lois. She stood and took off the cover up so she was only wearing her purple bikini. "We talked and he some shared things. You know how tuff that is for guys," Chloe relpied. She watched John surface and then dive back under the water in a smooth motion. "Lois, I think I have a new end of the summer project. I'm going to make sure John Clarkson feels welcome in Smallville, even if it isn't his home," she stated with conviction. Chloe ran to the water and splashed in.

John had been under water for a while and had calmed down. He had been timing his dives to make it look like he actually had to come back up for air. So far, neither he nor his father had ever found out how long they could hold their breaths. John's record was 2 days. He had gotten bored with the experiment and took a breath just so he could do something else. When he surfaced out of the lake on this day, he was rewarded with a big splash in the face. He blinked water out of his eyes and saw Chloe grinning impishly at him. John tilted his head to the side and splashed her with his opposite hand that he had stretched out under water.

"You sneaky little…" the rest of Chloe's words were cut off by another splash from John. Chloe dove under water and resurfaced behind John to splash him. John knew where she was the whole time, but let her get behind him. He timed it so he would get a face full of water as he turned to face her. He had long ago learned how to pass as a human by making it look like others could get the better of him. "_**Besides**__," _he thought, "_**It makes Chloe smile and I could look at that at all day. Not to mention the rest of her**__."_ Her nipples were poking out due to the relatively cold water of the lake. They played in the water for a while and eventually made their way back to shore.

When they made it back to their spot on the beach, they found Lois laying on her back sun bathing. Most of the male population with a direct line of sight was staring at her. Chloe noticed John was looking everywhere else but at Lois. Chloe saw how skimpy Lois' bikini was and wondered if it was a religious thing for John. "I noticed you keep trying not look at Lois while every other guy here can't take their eyes off of her. Do you mind my asking? Is it her clothing?" she inquired politely.

"What? No it's not that at all," John answered. "Actually…" he said as he leaned back and made a purposeful show of looking Chloe up and down, lingering on her butt. "I don't have a problem with the clothing at all," John said sexily. Chloe blushed at the attention from John. He thought about how to say it and figured as close to the truth as possible would be the best. "Lois looks just like my mom did at her age and it's just sort of creepy seeing her that way," he admitted.

Chloe bumped into him with her shoulder playfully. "That's sweet," she told him. Chloe reached down and took his hand, entwining her fingers with his. "I hope you get to see them again," Chloe said softly. "_**Just not too soon**__,"_ she hoped.

******House of El******

**Watchtower – 2010**

Lois looked at the photo on the monitor in disbelief. John Clarkson had really been her son, Jonathan Kent. Lois started laughing. "Well that explains why he screamed when I pinched his butt the first time we met," she muttered. Chloe laughed as well, some of the tension leaving the room. Lois noticed that Chloe was still uncomfortable. "I'm ok with it. You and John dated for a couple of weeks, no big deal," Lois said. Lois looked at Chloe's face and her own took on a less merry expression. "That's all it was right? I mean you were all moony eyed over him and then heartbroken for a long time, but nothing happened… right?" Lois asked looking in Chloe's eyes.

Chloe sighed and rocked back in her chair. "No, nothing happened, even though I really wanted it to," she admitted. Memories of John brought tears to her eyes. She really had loved him. Waking up at the Kent farm after being knocked out only to find that he had been moved again had been too much to bear. She had refused to talk about it with Lois. Chloe had instead buried herself in her work at the Torch and the Wall of Weird. While lost in memories of lost opportunities, her eye caught an invitation to dinner that Oliver had sent her sitting on the console. She picked it up and read it.

"Lois, I've lost out on love now a couple of times. Once with John and then with Jimmy," Chloe said. She tapped the invitation on her thigh. "I don't think I should let my pride stand in the way of another chance. I'm going to take Ollie up on his invitation to dinner tonight," Chloe said with a smile. She felt more confident than she had in a long time. She looked back at the picture of John. Knowing that he left for a bigger purpose helped her heal old wounds.

Lois looked at the screen as well, "Eventually I'll have to have a long talk with him about manners. It was totally rude of him to leave without saying goodbye," Lois joked.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure he didn't get that from his mother or anything," she teased. "Heeeeeeey!" she squealed as Lois pushed her chair across the room on its casters, giving Chloe a small ride; just like the ones they used to give each other in the General's office when they were little.

******House of El******

**Crater Lake – 2010**

Tee'Oliver was driving Clark's truck to the lake, looking for a landmark he hoped would be here in this time. On one of John's unscheduled and unsanctioned flights above Smallville, he had found that there was a smaller portion of Crater Lake that jutted out from the rest forming a cove. It was surrounded by steep boulders and thick underbrush. It was just about inaccessible from the ground. The only easy way to get there was from the air. The troublesome trio had gone there to practice their underwater combat skills unseen by the public. They also used it as a place to just get away from the constant gale force that was their lives.

Junior saw the maintenance trail to the park and took it, avoiding the main drive. He drove for a while until he reached a place where he could park the truck. He went to the bed of the truck and reached for a pack that held sandwiches and bottled water. Cassy caught his arm before he could grab the pack. "I saw Lois making the sandwiches,' she warned him.

"Thanks," Junior said, opening the pack carefully. He took out the sandwiches and tried to decide what to do with them. "If I feed these to the local wildlife, I could be charged with cruelty to animals," he said seriously. "Remember that Thanksgiving when we were ten?" he asked her.

Cassy hunched her shoulders and took a deep breath. The memory of Lois' attempt at stuffing and baked sweet potatoes still caused a gag reflex eight years later. "Over there," Cassy said pointing to a flat rock. Junior put the sandwiches on the rock and stepped back. Cassy incinerated them with her heat vision.

"It was for the best," Junior told her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Cassy felt a small tingle flash through her body at his touch. She had been experiencing these feelings for about a year now, every time Tee'Oliver touched her. She wasn't sure when she had stopped looking at him as just the other part of their trio of friends and started thinking of him as someone whom she wanted to posses as her own. "Ready to go?" he asked her as he handed her a towel. Cassy stood behind him, wrapped her arms around him, and rose into the air.

The two young heroes skimmed the trees, keeping just above the tops. Tee'Oliver hoped Cassy was concentrating on flying and not listening to how much his heart rate had increased. No matter how much of his father's training he applied, he couldn't ever get his heart rate to lower to normal levels when Cassy put her arms around him. He had been secretly longing for her for a couple of years. It was for her that he had been saving himself even though he had several opportunities to lose his virginity. Being the son of Oliver Queen and Tee'ann, women from earth and elsewhere were throwing themselves at him, thinking he was just like his parents. Many of the sisters on the island had offered themselves to him and John (some more than once.) He had told the sisters that he was saving himself for someone he loved. The fact that he had made this declaration in the temple of Aphrodite had done wonders for his reputation on the island. John's lame ass excuse for not losing his virginity was he was just too busy for a relationship. "_**Like father, like son, I guess**__,"_ Junior thought. He closed his eyes and concentrated on how soft Cassy's arms felt.

Cassy put Junior down at their cove and they laid out their towels. Junior took off the over sized tee shirt he was borrowing and dove into the water. Cassy smiled as she watched him swim. He was built along different lines than their friend John. Where John could be compared to a mighty loin, Tee'Oliver was a sleek, mountain cat; agile and equally as dangerous in his own way. Cassy thought back to a conversation she had recently overheard on the island when two of the sisters hadn't known she was nearby. They had been discussing Junior and another sister's failed attempt at seduction. One brought up Junior's declaration in Aphrodite's temple. The other then spoke about one of the oracles saying the young man was in love with either John or Cassy. There was now a betting pool to see if it was John or her that Tee'Oliver would eventually confess his love to. Cassy had been shocked at first and then realized that neither John nor Junior had ever had girlfriends. It was only the additional fact that she had never had a boyfriend that kept her from really wondering about her friends' sexuality. She decided it was finally time to put the matter to rest. She dove into the water from the shore.

Tee'Oliver felt the splash behind him and he dove deep. When he reached the bottom, Cassy was waiting for him and lightly pinned him. Oliver fought her off with Cassy using only slightly more strength than a human male could muster. Cassy thought she had him in a particularly binding hold when Junior dropped his shoulder in an odd way and threw her several feet. He smiled and waved as he rose to the surface.

Junior took in a deep breath and Cassy waited for him to tread water before speaking. "OK, smart ass, where did you learn that one? You never used it before," Cassy complained.

"I improvised. I've been watching you spar with John and noticed that you sometimes over compensate on your left side," Junior said smugly.

Cassy splashed him playfully. "You've been watching huh? What else have you seen?" she asked, floating closer to him. Cassy had angled their assent so that Junior would be able to touch bottom soon without having to tread water.

"_**What have I seen? I have seen that you are the sexiest woman ever**__," _thought Junior. Junior's feet touched the sand and he was able to focus more on Cassy than on keeping afloat. He saw how the sun sparkled off of her wet hair. His trained senses picked up on the slight flush that was creeping into her cheeks. He wondered what was causing it. Junior knew she was impervious to cold. Hope flared in his heart when he realized what it might mean. "_**Ok sport. I guess it's now or never," **_he thought. "_**No fear…find my center…no doubt…find my center…I am my senses**__," _he silently recited his calming mantra.

Cassy was watching Junior and felt warmth in her cheeks at the thought of finally kissing him. All of sudden, Tee'Oliver closed his eyes and became totally still. Cassy recognized his switch into archer mode, the way he channeled everything he felt into just one thing. Junior's eyes opened slowly. He had become unnaturally calm. He drifted slowly to her, no movement wasted. She felt his arms wrap around her waist and pull her to him. Cassy closed her eyes as she leaned in to kiss him, wanting to focus as much on this moment as she was able to. She felt his warm lips on hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck, not willing to let him go. Cassy parted her lips and gently sent her tongue out to explore. Tee'Oliver opened his lips and welcomed her tongue with his own. His hand traced her spine up to her head, again no motion wasted. Cassy broke the kiss and whispered, "Great first kiss, but I want Tee'Oliver, not the New Archer."

Junior seemed to shudder and his body took on the slight movements that everybody makes. "Sorry, I just had to get my nerve up," he admitted. He kissed her again. Cassy brought both of her hands up and ran them through his short spiky hair. When they broke the kiss, Cassy looked into his eyes and then she felt it. Her mother, Kara, had told her about the feeling of finding one's soulmate, but Kara said the feeling was hard to explain. Kara had described the sensation as being faint, but still easy to identify if you knew what to look for. They hadn't known if being half-Kryptonian / half-Demigod would mean the feeling would be harder to sense or easier. Considering Cassy felt a super-nova in her heart that never quit exploding, she would have to say it was easier. She had found her soulmate. Cassy pulled Junior in for their most passionate kiss yet, her hands roving over his back.

Cassy smiled at him and said in a sultry voice, "It's about damn time." She floated back in the water and reached behind her to untie the straps to her bikini. She threw the top to the shore. Cassy was excited and ended up tossing the bikini top into a tree, 20 feet up. Neither of them noticed. Junior waded to shore and lay down on a towel. He put her towel next to him. Cassy floated up out of the water and flew to him.

Cassy was flying parallel to the ground and hovered right above Tee'Oliver. She let her wet hair trail along his leg and up his torso. She paused to brush her hair ever so softly over one of his nipples. Junior smiled, but stayed still. Cassy floated to where her mouth was even with his and tossed her hair to one side. While she was still floating above him, Junior reached up and stroked one of Cassy's perky breasts. Cassy shut her eyes and reveled in the sensations of Tee'Oliver's hands touching her. She gasped in pleasure when he rolled one of her hardening nipples between his fingers. She lowered herself until she allowed gravity to exert its control over her once again. She had a leg on either side of his and had her breasts pressed against his chest.

They kissed while Junior let his hands roam over her back and legs. Cassy felt the hardness below her and rocked her hips, rubbing her swollen lips against his trapped erection. Junior let out a moan and brought his hands up to her ass. She arched her back and presented a nipple to his mouth. Junior gently licked it at first. Cassy put one hand under his head and pulled him up ever so slightly. Junior got the hint and began sucking on her nipple, bringing moans from her. Cassy moved down and put her mouth to his ear and whispered, "Is it true? Did you wait for me? Because I will still want you if you didn't."

Junior brought his hands from her ass to her back and held her close. "I couldn't imagine sharing this with anyone else, Cassy. I love you. I always have," he confessed.

Cassy traced his ear with her fingertip. "Me too. I love you and this is my first time, too," she admitted. Cassy watched the look of concern cross his face. "Don't worry, Kryptonian women don't have hymens. It's one of the differences in our species," she said. Cassy reached down and squeezed his hard cock. "We don't have to worry about breaking your arrow shaft," she reassured him teasingly. Junior looked very relieved. He definitely hadn't wanted to ram his manhood into something as impervious as steel. Cassy let go of his cock and slid her hand over his balls and onto his leg. She slid off of him and stood up. Cassy hooked her thumbs in the waist band of her bikini bottoms off, slid them down to her ankles, and kicked them to the side. The bikini bottoms landed on the other side of the cove. Tee'Oliver quickly slid his swim trunks off, exposing his raging hard on.

Cassy lay down on the towel next to Tee'Oliver and gestured for him. He rolled over and kissed her, putting his legs between hers. Cassy spread her legs wider and reached down for his cock. She guided it to her wet, engorged opening and put the tip of cock in her folds. Junior thrust his hips, burying his rod deep inside her. Cassy let out a load moan at the feeling of fullness her lover provided. They stayed that way for a moment savoring the feeling, stroking each other's bodies. Junior took the initiative and reached down to rub his thumb against her hard clit. "Yes, Tollie!" she yelled suddenly.

Tee'Oliver stopped and looked down at her. "You haven't called me that in years," he teased.

Cassy looked at him with pure need in her eyes. "Shut up and keep rubbing!" she ordered. Tee'Oliver went back to rubbing her clit and soon she was starting to buck her hips and pant. "I'll call you worse if you don't fuck me soon," she warned. Tee'Oliver smiled and slowly drew his cock out of her wet pussy. "What?!" she started to ask until he slammed back in and began thrusting deeply, keeping up his thumb ministrations. Cassy's bucking became more intense and she took her hands off of his back, placing them on a large rock behind her head. She tightened up her body, arched her back, and screamed "Tollliiieee!" As the orgasm raced through her body, Cassy involuntarily crushed the stone she was holding into dust.

Tee'Oliver came soon afterwards, amazed at the intensity of her orgasm. He collapsed on top of her, knowing she could easily accept his body weight. When they both caught their breath, Tee'Oliver lowered his head and gave Cassy a slow, lingering kiss. They made love several more times until the Sun set.

Lois was on the porch reading her copy of the Daily Planet when Junior and Cassy drove up in Clark's truck. She noticed how much closer Cassy was sitting to Oliver's son compared to when they had left. Her suspicions were confirmed when the young couple held hands as soon as they were out of the truck. "Looks like love is in the air," she said playfully. "You two and maybe even Chloe," she said without thinking. The new couple looked at each other. Lois suddenly remembered who she was talking to. She looked at Junior sadly. "I guess it doesn't work out for her again," she said glumly.

"What do you mean?" Junior asked.

"Chloe is going out to dinner tonight with your dad. Considering who your mom is, I'm guessing things don't work out," Lois said somewhat bitterly. "_**Chloe has seen enough disappointment in her life**__,_" Lois thought to herself.

"That's weird. Dad said Chloe never accepted any of his invitations after their big fight," Junior stated. "It was one of the things that bothered him the most. He thought if they had one more chance, things would have turned out differently," he said.

Cassy had been partly listening to the conversation. While listening, she had also been reading the archaic wood fiber newspaper in Lois' hands. Cassy nearly spoke out when she read the date. She used her x-ray vision and saw Lois' purse on the dining room table. "Lois, your phone is ringing. You have it on vibrate," Cassy lied.

"Oh, thanks Cassy," Lois said. She got up and put the paper down. She opened the door and walked inside. Cassy rushed over and grabbed the paper.

"Look at the date!" Cassy exclaimed, pointing to the top. "It's the day Chloe Sullivan disappeared," she stated.

Tee'Oliver was looking thoughtful. "We have to get to Metropolis," he said. "Cassy, Chloe never went on another date with my dad. If they get back together, I won't be born," he told her.

Lois was looking down at her phone as she opened the door. "Cassy, you sure it my phone and not Ben Hubbard's you heard? His farm is the next one down… "she started to say. Lois realized she was talking to herself. Her paper was in a heap on the porch.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Metropolis – 2010**

Chloe Sullivan was walking the nine blocks from her apartment to Oliver's favorite restaurant. She glanced up at the looming storm clouds and hoped the rain would hold off until she got there. She had decided to walk to give her time to get up her courage. Oliver had hurt her before, but deep down she knew he was a good man. She was willing to give him a second chance. She just had to control her own fears about being hurt again.

Chloe was passing the alley next to the restaurant and she caught a glimpse of Green Arrow darting down it. Fearing that Oliver might need help, Chloe raced after him as quietly as she could. She hid behind a dumpster and saw the Green Arrow approach a woman dressed similar to Diana, but with the colors reversed. Chloe couldn't see her clearly because Oliver was blocking her view. "_**What did Oliver do to the suit?**__"_ Chloe thought as she noticed the symbols around the right shoulder. Chloe heard the woman speak.

"Is this the right place?" the young Amazon asked the green glad archer.

"Yeah, I checked the reservation book. Chloe isn't due to be here for another 15 minutes," Green Arrow said. "Not really enough time for what I had in mind so I guess we'll have to settle for this," he said and pulled the woman in for a kiss.

"_**That son-of-a-bitch**__!" _Chloe fumed. She thought about storming over there and decided against it, not knowing how the Amazonian would react. The couple continued in a passionate kiss and the Green Arrow's hood fell down. "_**What the**__…" _Chloe wondered as she saw the black streaks in Tee'Oliver's hair. She also saw a tear on the much younger man's cheek. The other woman reached up and brushed the tear away.

"You were never planning on stopping them were you?" Cassy asked him.

"No, love. I wasn't," Junior admitted. "I had you take me here so I could make sure my dad and Chloe go on that date," he explained.

Chloe blinked her eyes quickly. She saw the resemblance and was familiar with Clark's stories of time travel. She wondered who his mother was and then put two and two together. The symbols on his shoulder were Tee family and his streaks were the same black as Tee'ann's hair. She listened in again as the young man spoke.

"Cassy, please try to understand. I love you, more than you will ever know, but I love my dad as well," Junior stated. "Ever since Chloe disappeared on this night, he was wreck. He was never happy. Even when I was growing up I could see the pain gnawing at him. He never quit blaming himself and wondering what might have been," he said. "Cassy, apart from me, he spent the rest of his life alone. Sure he had affairs, but he never loved them. He never even loved my mom," Junior tried to explain. "I have a chance to help him. I have a chance to help Chloe Sullivan. I know that it means I will never be born, but who knows, maybe they will have a kid just like me," he offered. "All I know is that the three of us – you, me and Jonathan – swore to each other than we would willingly lay down our lives for the good of others. I chose to do so now," he told his lover.

Cassy turned her back on Junior and walked deeper into the alley, refusing to look back. Rain had finally started to come down. Junior opened the side door to the restaurant and snuck inside. Chloe looked down the alley and saw the young woman's back heave with sobs. Chloe smiled sadly as she figured out whose daughter Cassy probably was. That only left the mysterious "Jonathan". The light bulb came on. "_**Of course**__,"_ she thought, "_**My John. Of course he would be just like his father and surround himself with the best of the best**__." _The thought of John having someone to rely on like Clark relied on Oliver gave Chloe immense peace. She made a decision and followed Junior into the building after taking out the JLA built stun gun she carried in her purse.

Chloe found Tee'Oliver in a hallway peeking out at the dining room. He was staring at a table where Oliver Queen sat nervously watching the front door. Chloe crept up on him. Tee'Oliver sensed rather than heard someone behind him. He spun around, ready to disable whoever it was, but froze when he recognized Chloe Sullivan. He froze even more when his muscled were paralyzed by the stun gun.

Chloe finished dragging Junior into the cleaning closet and propped him up into a sitting position. She knew he was conscious and could hear everything she said. Chloe stroked his blonde and black hair. "What you tried to do is noble, but there is a woman out back who needs you and a young man somewhere who needs your strength as well," she told him. "I can't let you do this, but I can try to make things easier for Oliver," she promised him. Chloe stared at him and then said, "I would have been proud to have been your mother." She leaned down and gently kissed his cheek. Chloe turned around and left Tee'Oliver in the cleaning closet, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Cassy had flown to a building across the street and stood on the rooftop in the rain. She looked through the restaurant's windows and watched the date unfold between Junior's dad and Chloe Sullivan. Cassy couldn't tell what were tears and what were raindrops on her face. After about 20 minutes, she saw Chloe stand up and put her hand on Oliver's shoulder. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Oliver's hand reached up to touch the spot where she had kissed him while Chloe walked out into the rain. Chloe turned and made her way into the alley. Cassy flew and landed in front of the short blonde woman.

Chloe smiled when she saw the El house emblem on the young woman's corset, confirming her suspicions about whose daughter she was. "I broke it off with Oliver and let him down easy. I told him that he was going to make a great father someday," she told the young woman. "I'm not sure what is going on here, but I plan on being around to see all three of you get born. It's going to take alien abduction or being eaten by some huge monster to keep me from you guys," Chloe promised. "By the way, your boyfriend is in the cleaning closet. He should be able to move in a couple of hours. Oh, and don't be too mad at him. The Queen gene causes the men to do stupid things at times," Chloe said. The young woman nodded her thanks. She hugged her and ran inside without speaking a word.

Chloe walked back to her apartment feeling more at peace than she had in years. She suddenly had the urge to call Lois and tell her everything was going to be ok. Chloe fished her cell-phone out of her purse and was in the process of dialing when she heard a deep growl coming from the alley on her right. Chloe turned towards the noise and then dropped her phone as she stumbled backwards. Chloe fell and tried to scoot away from the hideous creature that was slowly walking out of the alley towards her. Chloe could only describe it as _something_ that looked similar to a hairless dog that stood 10 feet tall. Its glowing white skin had random dark patches on it. Along its spine and shoulders were two foot long spikes. Like a dog, it had teeth and claws developed for tearing into the flesh of its prey. Around its huge neck was a collar that bore the old "8" symbol for the House of El. Chloe screamed as the creature brought its mighty jaws down on her.

******House of El******

**New Watchtower Building (JLA Headquarters) –2029**

J'onn J'onzz was standing in his lab in the basement of the New Watchtower Building frantically working on his hybrid Kryptonian / Martian computers. He was trying to find out if there had been any other invaders from the future in the here and now. To do so would require that he surround the computers in a null-entropy field, temporarily cutting himself off from the rest of the time stream. The switch to activate the field had to be turned on and off from the outside. He had enlisted Oliver Queen's help for the project. J'onn prepared himself for the discomfort of the shift into a parallel existence and gave Oliver a thumbs up sign. Oliver pressed the button and the world around J'onn distorted.

J'onn became nauseous and for a Martian that meant a **LOT** of mess to clean up later. He held it down and scanned the readings. They showed no signs at all of any other invaders. Their attack had been focused solely on Metropolis. J'onn was satisfied with the results and waited for Oliver to press the button to bring him back into reality.

While J'onn was waiting to come back into this Universe, he saw a curious thing. A purple wave was coming towards him from a great distance. That was quite unusual considering he was in a basement with the farthest wall being only 10 meters away. J'onn looked at his instruments and saw that the wave did not register on them at all. He continued to watch the wave approach and then finally wash over him with no ill effects. He turned and watched it continue on until it disappeared into the far horizon, again being much farther away than the walls were. The nauseous feeling returned and he rejoined the normal Universe. J'onn bent over, holding his head.

"Did you find anything?" Oliver asked.

"The attack on Metropolis was the only one," J'onn said. "The only other readings were when the Legion appeared yesterday," he told Oliver.

"If I find the bastards that took my son, I'm going to ram a cruiser up their ass!" Tee'ann cursed.

J'onn shot up straight. He looked over at Tee'ann who had not been in the lab before the experiment. Tee'ann was standing next to Oliver and had her hand on his shoulder. She was wearing her customary flight suit with Tee family symbols around the shoulder. J'onn's eyes were drawn to her hand by a brief flash. She was wearing a wedding band. J'onn looked closer and noticed she also had a tattoo on her neck just below her left ear that he had never seen before. Oliver put his hand on hers and said, "Sweetheart, we'll find our son and the other two. In the meantime the three of them will get into all sorts of trouble and Tee'Oliver will somehow turn it all into a huge financial loss for their enemies," he promised.

Tee'ann kissed Oliver on the cheek. "You always know what to say don't you, Mr. CEO" she asked him lovingly.

Oliver gave her one of his trademark grins with his perfect teeth. "Isn't that why you married me?" he inquired. J'onn fell to his knees. Oliver raced over to his friend. As J'onn passed out he saw that Oliver was indeed wearing a matching wedding band and had an identical tattoo under his left ear. Time had been rewritten.

**Kent farm – 2029 years in the future**

Imra Ardeen paced the loft in worried thought. She had been the first of the Legionaries to heal. She had only received a concussion and a mental blast. Clark and Lois came up the stairs holding hands. They stopped when they realized there was someone in the loft. "Sorry," Clark said a little embarrassed. "We didn't realize the loft was occupied."

Irma looked at the two of them still holding hands. "It's like all the romantic history books say. You two really do have a love that stands the test of time," she murmured. "I'll let you guys have some privacy. It is your barn after all," she said. Irma tried a weak smile. "All though I don't think I'll ever be able to go to the Kent Farm Museum and look at the loft the same way," she joked.

Lois led Clark up to the loft and then let go of his hand. She took Irma's and led her to the couch. Clark pulled the chair over and sat next to the women. "What's wrong Irma?" Clark asked. "Ever since we got back to the farm you haven't said a word to Rokk or Garth. Something is still bothering you about the kids isn't it?" he asked. Clark realized that to them, "the kids" were just a couple of years younger they were.

Irma kept her face down. "All of our history books and disks state that yesterday was the day Trinity died," she choked out. "There is a monument that will be built in their honor in Metropolis. A statue of the three of them is at the center. It's called the Plaza of Fallen Heroes. As time goes on, whenever a super hero is killed in battle their name is added to the memorial. It still stands in my time," Irma told them. "The only thing the histories differ on is whether or not their remains were ever found. Some say they are buried under the monument, while others say they were never recovered," she explained. Irma gave a wry laugh. "In fact, that point is one of the divisions in the Church of Superman," she said.

"The what?!" Lois and Clark exclaimed together.

"The Church of Superman," Irma repeated. "They _say_ they aren't a religion and only seek to teach people about your belief in finding the good in everybody," she explained. Clark looked at Lois in disbelief. "They have been our greatest source of information on you. They are the ones who run the Superman museum," Irma stated.

"Then why are you helping Rokk if you think this could destabilize time and jeopardize your future?" Clark asked.

Irma looked at the floor for a moment before answering. "I'm not really sure to be truthful. If I had to give you an answer I would have to say it was because of him," she admitted. Irma walked over to the wall of the loft and took down John's senior picture. She stood there staring at it before she continued. "I'm from Saturn's moon, Titan. When I first got to New Metropolis, I was over whelmed by the sheer number of people there. None of them shielded their minds like we do on Titan and I was flooded with all of the terrible things people were thinking from day to day," Irma said. "I wandered around the city, sick to my stomach. I wondered why I had left my home to help these people," she stated. "Eventually, I came to the Plaza of Fallen Heroes. All of the terrible thoughts I had been sensing went away. The only thing I could feel was sadness and thanks from the people visiting there. I went to the center and saw the statue," she said. Irma described it for them, "Kal… Lois, you wouldn't believe how beautiful it is. The monument is a two story gold statue. It's the three of them standing together ready to fight evil for eternity. Jon-El is standing in the center with his arms crossed, blocking the encroachment of the armies of evil. The look on his face is one of pure determination. Cassandra-El is to his right, her arms up like she is shielding the innocent. Tee'Oliver is standing to Jon-El's left. He has his bow drawn with an arrowed knocked, ready to pierce the heart of darkness."

Lois had taken Clark's hand and he felt her squeeze tight. He saw the tears flowing from her eyes. Irma continued her story, "I just stood here looking at them. They were no older than I was when they died. I left and went straight to the Superman Museum to research Trinity," she stated. "When I got there, Prelate Jecarn met me at the door and asked me what I was looking for. I told him and he led me to a small room in the back of the museum filled with old books on them. When I learned that Jon-El was a fellow telepath, I focused my research on him," she explained. Irma gave John's parents a tired and pained smile. "I think it was when I learned that he had been sneaking out since he was 15 to use his powers to help people that helped convinced me to join the Legion. Jon-El eventually died following in his father's footsteps by helping those less powerful than him. As someone gifted with special abilities, it was up to me to uphold that legacy. I signed up with the Legion the next day," she told them.

"Nice story young lady, but I don't give a shit about your future. All I want to do is find my godson!" said a man dressed in a black cowl and cape that had walked up the stairs soundlessly.

Lois stood up quickly and ran to the man. She threw her arms around him. "Bruce," was all she was able to get out. She was still crying. Batman gently placed a gauntleted hand on her head.

Bruce Wayne looked at his old friend. "Clark, I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. I had to tie up something in Gotham and then I got here as fast as I could," he told Clark.

Clark stood and walked to the Caped Crusader's side. "All that matters is that you're here now, Bruce," Clark said with conviction.

Bruce took his hand off of Lois' head and grabbed Clark by the back of the neck, drawing the other man's face towards his. "Nothing is going to stop us from finding John, I promise!" Bruce said sternly. "All of my resources are yours," he told him, echoing words Clark had spoken to him during a mission years ago when they had become as close as brothers. Bruce broke eye contact and looked down at Lois who had finally let go of her hug. "I wasn't sure how long this was going to take so I brought Dick along with me. I figured a trip to farm would do him some good and an introduction to Martha Kent's cooking will teach him there are no absolutes in the Universe," Bruce stated. Lois cocked an eyebrow at him. Bruce gave her one of his rare laughs. "I always thought that Alfred was the pinnacle of cooking skill and now that Dick lives with us he thinks so too. My perceptions changed when I had dinner on a certain farm in Kansas," he laughed.

Dick Grayson, 15 year old boy wonder, was sitting at the kitchen island eating the best apple pie he had ever tasted. He was still dressed in his red and orange Robin costume. He had taken off the mask and tucked it into his belt. If someone had told him earlier that day he would be eating the best pie he had ever tasted, he would have offered to meet them in duel over Alfred's culinary honor. Eating the pie, he realized there might be more to the world than just what Gotham might have to offer. He was sharing the kitchen island with a precocious 5 year old who was talking his ear off. She had been firing questions at him non-stop like, "Do you live in cave like Uncle Bruce? What does the 'R' stand for on your costume? Why do you wear a cape if you can't fly?" One questioned floored him coming from a 5 year old. He should have been expecting something like it considering who her parents were and what environment she grew up in. "Doesn't the red and orange make it difficult to blend in at night when you are sneaking up on bad guys?" little Elizabeth had asked him. He didn't have a good answer for her. "I think Uncle Bruce wants to slow you down so he can get to the bad guys first. Grown up are always doing stuff like that. They say it is so they can keep us safe," she told him. Elizabeth looked at the red and orange again. "He must care about you a lot to keep you _that_ safe," she laughed. Elizabeth hopped down off of the stool and put her plate in the sink after rinsing it off. She skipped off to see her grandmother in the living room. Dick was staring at his red clothing when he heard the little girl say to her grandmother, "I like him. I think I'll marry him when I'm older." She then picked up a doll and brushed its hair.

Bruce Wayne walked into the kitchen and found his foster son finishing off another slice of pie. Dick was smiling to himself and shaking his head. "What's so funny, Dick?" Bruce asked, matching the boy's infectious grin.

Dick looked up at Bruce who had finally slid his cowl off. "Little kids. They say some pretty funny stuff sometimes," Dick replied. "Elizabeth, who is all of 5 years old, said she is going to marry me when she is older," he laughed.

Bruce's face became serious. He stepped close to Dick and whispered in his ear. "You know John and Elizabeth are my godkids, right?" he asked. Dick nodded; suddenly afraid he had crossed some boundary he hadn't known about. Bruce grinned wickedly at Dick. "Elizabeth is a telepath who has, on occasion, had instances of precognition," Bruce informed him. He slapped him on the back. "Just something to think about," Bruce said. Dick stared at his plate and numbly drank his glass of milk.

******House of El******

**The Talon – 2004**

Lois Lane was drinking her coffee and watching the retreating back of Clark Kent. He had just left with Lana Lang. Clark hadn't been jealous like she thought he would be when he found out Chloe was dating John Clarkson. In fact, he had been too busy mooning over Lana to notice anything. **"**_**How can he date that manipulative bitch when he has had Chloe there for him all this time?**__" _Lana thought. "_**Thank god I'm not the kind of person who can't see the perfect relationship when it is right under my nose?**__" _A minute after Clark had left, John walked into the café. "_**Odd how those two never seem to meet. I know Farmer John is hiding out, but why would he be hiding from another dull farmer?**__" _Lois wondered. John came over to her table and sat down. They both signaled for the waitress by waiving their right hand with the first two fingers out. Lois didn't notice the similarity.

They ordered their coffees and after they were delivered, Lois struck up the conversation. "So you and Chloe get to second base yet?" she asked him. John choked on his coffee.

"Mom! I can't believe you asked me that," he blurted out. John was too shocked at her question to realize his mistake.

"What did you just say?" Lois asked him, folding her arms across her chest.

"_**Oh crap! Improvise, John**__!" _he thought. "Uh… you sounded like a mom interrogating a kid so I thought I would call you on it; and not that it's any of your business, no we haven't," John replied.

"Why is there something wrong with her?" Lois pried.

"No, Chloe is a wonderful woman, and I like her a lot. It's just I don't know how long I will be here," John answered. "It wouldn't be right to have a relationship with someone if you knew you were going to leave soon," John stated. Lois looked at John with new found respect. He had spoken with sincerity. Not many guys his age would treat a woman with that level of respect. Lois vowed that if she ever had a son, she would raise him to believe the same way.

"If that is how you really feel, then you need to tell Chloe that. She has fallen head over heels for you," Lois told him.

John thought about what she said. He had been thinking about it for a day or so. It had become increasingly difficult to avoid Clark Kent in the small town. John didn't want to risk altering the future by having interaction with him as well. He felt he had risked too much by interacting with his grandmother and Lois. He was going to leave tonight and stay as far away from Smallville as he could until he figured out a way back to his own time. John had agonized over how to explain it to Chloe. He thought about how she had learned about his father's abilities and kept them a secret. He would soften the blow to her heart by being truthful. "You're right, Lois. I'll tell her tonight. Just do me a favor. Let me tell her my way, OK?" John asked.

Lois nodded her head. "You're a super guy, John. You're going to make some girl a very happy woman some day," she told him.

******House of El******

**Crater Lake - 2004**

Chloe drove her VW out to Crater Lake where John had asked to meet her. She had butterflies in her stomach. She was hoping that he was preparing something romantic for them. Chloe had told Lois John had called and set up a night time rendezvous at the lake. Lois had only given her a hug and walked away. "_**She must be jealous because AC took off**__," _Chloe thought. Chloe pulled into the parking lot of the lake and found a note from John saying he was at the shore. Chloe walked quickly down the path. She didn't notice Lois' car pull into the lot and Lois quietly following her.

When Chloe had told her that John wanted to see her at the lake, Lois knew what was coming. She kept her word to John and didn't say anything. "_**Just because I can't say anything doesn't mean I can't be there for her when her heart breaks**__,"_ Lois thought as she trekked down the trail after her cousin. Lois got to the tree line and saw John had built a large fire and was sitting with his back to the lake. He was wearing a red leather motorcycle jacket that totally shattered his farm boy image. Chloe was walking toward him when the area where John was sitting went up in a violent explosion. Lois blinked her eyes against the after image and saw that John was now standing right next to her with an unconscious Chloe in his arms. He had covered a distance of 100 meters and survived an explosion in a blink of an eye.

John looked at Lois and grinned at her. "Of course you're here. Where else would you be? You're Lois Lane," he said cryptically. He picked Lois up as well and super sped to the parking lot. John put Lois down so she could stand next to her car. He laid Chloe down in the back seat.

"What the hell is going on?" Lois asked is a hushed voice. She was trying to grasp how John was able to move so fast.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," John replied. "Then again, you're Lois Lane…" he trailed off. "I know I'm wasting my breath, but I need you to stay out of trouble. Whatever launched that plasma bolt at me is still out there, and I very much need you to stay alive," John told her.

"What are you going to do?" Lois asked him.

John smirked at her. "I'm going to find it and beat the crap out of it," he said. Lois got a strange chill down her spine when she recognized the phrase her father had used time and time again on field maneuvers mixed with that irritating smirk Clark always gave her.

Before John could leave, Lois reached out and grabbed his arm. "John, who are you really?" she asked.

John lightly took her hand off his arm and gently squeezed her hand. "You'll find out eventually, I promise," he said. John leapt into the air. Lois saw the back of his jacket was a smoldering wreck.

John was flying above the lake looking for signs of his attacker. He watched Lois' car pull out onto the county road and head towards the Kent farm. His super hearing picked up the sound of metal sliding against metal above him and slightly to his right. John switched into hyper speed and dodged a second plasma blast. John was able to watch the bolt pass by and saw it was the same color green as the kryptonite that was deadly to his family. He looked back along the trajectory of the bolt and saw a man in black powered armor flying above him. John didn't recognize the family markings on the shoulder.

John focused his rage and sent twin beams of heat into the chest of his attacker. He kept his beams to half power, only wanting to disable, not kill. The powered armored assailant grabbed his chest and then hit a button on his arm, activating a stealth field. John quickly switched to x-ray vision and wasn't able to see his attacker in that spectrum either. John began flying above the lake in quick, erratic evasive maneuvers. He assumed the other person was trying to line up another shot.

John racked his brain and tried to remember how Cassy, Junior, and he had come up with a solution for something similar to this during their tactical simulations. In the simulation, Junior had fired a smoke arrow at the ground. Cassy had blown the smoke upwards and John had seen where the smoke was disrupted and blasted the target out the sky with his heat vision. "_**Well, I'm short an archer best friend and an Amazonian cousin, let's see what else I have to work with,**__" _John thought. John looked along the shore line and his eyes fell upon the snack shop. "_**Sorry kids, but I'm probably doing you favor. All that stuff isn't good for you anyway**__," _he silently apologized.

John used his x-ray vision to pinpoint where in the snack shop the 55 gallon drum of cooking oil was stored. He flew into the building, ripping off the wall and part of the ceiling above the drum. John quickly circled away so as to not remain a stationary target. From across the lake, he ignited the cooking oil with a pinpoint beam of heat vision. "_**Here's the tricky part,**__" _John thought. He sped low across the lake. Fast enough to develop a rooster tail of water behind him but slow enough to see and track. The hair on the back of John's neck itched as he knew his attacker was lining up a shot. John concentrated on his goal and forgot about the other person for a moment. Right before the shore, John pulled up suddenly racing skyward. The green bolt flashed directly in front of him. His attacker had been assuming he was going to use the rooster tail of water to extinguish the fire he had made and had placed the shot at the point where John would have had to stop to accomplish it. John wanted nothing of the sort. As it was, only a gallon or so of water reached the burning oil. The water flashed over into steam, causing a huge fireball and a tremendous amount of black smoke. John dove through the smoke, dissipating it in all directions. He saw the smoke particles move around something that wasn't there right above the lake. "_**OK asshole, let's see if you can breathe vacuum**__,"_ John thought in anger. He super sped into the swirling air disturbance and connected with something hard. He gripped the armor with his fingers, tearing rents in it. John angled upwards and shot into the upper atmosphere.

John's less than gentle handling of the power armor caused the stealth field along with most of the weapons to short out. A clear head dome had snapped into place allowing the wearer to breathe in the extreme environment the owner now found himself in. John stopped his assent and began his interrogation. "Who are you and why are you trying to kill me?" John demanded.

The man touched a button on his gauntlet and spoke. "My name isn't important, but yours is. That is why you have to die. Too many still believe in you in my day and my masters just can't have that," the man said. The man drove a powered knee into John's groin, causing momentary pain. He spun John around and locked the arms of the suit around John's waist. "We all admire you and your friends. Personally, I feel that it has been an honor to be the one allowed to shed his life to kill you," his attacker said. "The button I just pressed was the self-destruct trigger for this suit. It will detonate the Kryptonite fuel cells that power it. Not even you are fast enough to break free from the suit's grasp and then fly to safety," the man boasted.

John thought about what the man had said about, "_**My day**__…" _John grinned and went into hyper speed again. He used his heat vision to weaken the armor at the wrist joint on the man's armor. He ripped the gauntlet off the man's hand, exposing it to the vacuum of space. While he did that, he also accelerated away from the planet, making sure none of the fallout from the blast would affect his dad. John pulled the time travel ring off the man's finger and placed it on his own. This had all taken less time than it takes a man to blink. "I don't know, I think I have all the time in the world," John told his attacker. He thought about going to the time where this man had come from and disappeared. The man in the power armor looked at his now freezing hand for an instant and then exploded in a green fury of energy.

Lois pulled into the driveway of the Kent farm. In her rearview mirror, Lois had seen a green flash of light over the lake followed by a huge fireball a few minutes later. Soon after, that she had seen some kind of green explosion way up in the sky. Lois wasn't sure what was going on and that made her mad. She was going to get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing she did, but her first priority was helping Chloe. Chloe was still unconscious in the back seat. Lois got out and started walking to the farmhouse but was stopped by Martha Kent's voice coming from the barn. "We're over here, dear," she said. Martha was standing next to a tall black man wearing a dark leather jacket. Next to him was a shorter white man wearing all black with large metal studs on his coat. Next to him was a man with his arm in a sling and a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt across one eye.

"Mommy!" Lois heard a little girl yell and saw what she considered to be the cutest 5 year old she had ever seen come tearing out of the barn. A strawberry blonde woman wearing a white jumpsuit with a Saturn emblem on the front came racing after her. The little girl ran across the driveway in the dark like she knew every pebble and wrapped her arms around Lois' waist. Lois awkwardly put her arms around the girl.

The little girl looked up at Lois' face and giggled, "Oops, sorry. Wrong mommy. I forgot." She let go and walked to the tall black man. She tapped the side of her head and said, "Sorry J'onn, but Johnny isn't here anymore."

The man with the studded jacket punched the wall of the barn with his fist. "Dammit, we're too late again!" he yelled in frustration.

"But, I felt his presence on other Mommy like he was here just a little bit ago," the little girl told the man with the studded jacket reassuringly. "We just missed him," she exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips in a very Lane woman fashion.

The black man walked towards Lois. "Lois, I know to you we haven't met yet, but I need you to trust us. John's life is in danger and I need to find out everything that has happened. To do that I need to share your mind," he told her.

"Sure why the hell not. This night can't get any weirder," Lois said in a false bravado. She was wrong as the black man's form shifted and she was left staring at a green alien. Before she could change her mind, J'onn reached out and touched her forehead. While in Lois' mind, J'onn had a discussion with her about the events that were taking place. She agreed to have the memory blocks put in place for the sake of the future. After J'onn retrieved the information he needed, he retreated from Lois' mind. Lois walked to her car, slid behind the driver's seat, and fell asleep.

"Lois saw a battle between John and something else she couldn't identify. She witnessed an explosion in space," J'onn stated. "I don't know what this means, but we should return to 2029 so we can discuss retrieving the other two," J'onn suggested.

"What about Jonathan and me?" Martha asked.

J'onn looked at her, his form shifting back to human. "I have written orders not to block your memory yet. I will come to the farm at a later date and take care of it," he told her. The note had been written on the back of the time coordinates for this jump. It was written in Martian, but not in his handwriting. His orders were to come back after Jonathan's death and wipe only Martha's memory. He had left a copy of the orders in an envelope addressed to himself in this time. Normally he wouldn't just do what he was told by a mysterious note, but these were signed "Head of the House of El" and had the proper passwords.

Martha gave her future granddaughter another hug and Elizabeth took Irma's hand. J'onn took Garth's and Rokk stood alone. Before they left Martha heard Elizabeth tell Irma, "The war is getting worse. You need to go home before Rokk and Garth do. It's important." The travelers left in expanding spheres of light.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**New Metropolis – 31****st**** Century**

Imra Ardeen was sitting in the conference room of the Legion Headquarters with the remaining members of the Legion. She had taken little El-El's advice and returned to her own time right after their failed rescued attempt in 2004. Imra felt a little guilty about leaving Rokk and Garth to handle finding Cassandra-El and Tee-Oliver in 2010, but she was confident that they could handle it.

Brainiac-5, who had kept his outward appearance as Milton Fine, was leading the briefing about how the war was going. He was drinking an ancient beverage called coffee, a habit he had formed since they rebooted him. "As you all know, the House of El has stepped up their attacks on our outposts throughout the galaxy. Zor-El IV has publicly denied any involvement, but our sources say the funding has come directly from New Krypton," Brainiac-5 stated. "During a sweep of the Legion mainframe, I encountered an anomaly. I traced the origin and found that most of our files on time travel were copied. Considering the resources the House of El has and their current feud with us and the Church of Superman, I wouldn't be surprised to find out the House of El was behind the attacks against the past," he said. A furry hand was raised. "Go ahead, Timberwolf," Brainiac acknowledged his team mate.

"Sorry, you lost me there. Granted, the House of El are bunch scumbags, sure, but why would they risk screwing themselves by altering their own timelines?" Timberwolf asked.

"I'll answer that, Brainy," Imra said, using the nickname she had given the new, non-psychotic version of the Kryptonian AI. She stood and addressed the group. "400 years ago, a pre-cog on Titan made a prediction about the future of the House of El. She said they would descend into darkness and corruption, but eventually the son of the greatest Head of the House of El would bring them out of darkness and back onto the path of good," Imra explained. "She predicted the great hero would reveal himself this year. Brainy and I believe Zor-El sent assassins back to kill Jon-El because he believes him to be a threat to his power," she stated.

"OK, I get it now, he's trying to stop the prophecy," Timberwolf said.

"Not really," Imra said. "Zor-El is trying to subvert the prophecy," she stated. "The House of El has been doing a massive PR campaign trying to convince everybody that Zor-El IV is the greatest thing since food replication and therefore his son, Zor-El V, will be the hero that was foretold. The Church of Superman disagrees. They hold firmly to the belief that Kal-El and Lois-El were the greatest Heads the House of El has ever seen," she said. Irma released the floor back to Brainiac and sat back down.

Brainiac watched Irma sit down then open her eyes wide, arching her back like someone had poured cold water down the back of her costume. "Saturn Girl, are you all right?" he asked, clearly concerned. Of all the Legion members, she had treated him with the most kindness since his reboot.

"I… I think so, Brainy," Imra said as she stood up. She walked to the window overlooking the city. "There's something out there, something strong," she said quietly.

"What did it feel like?" Brainiac asked her.

"I'm not really sure. The best way I can describe it is like a super bright beacon, but now it's muffled somehow. It's still out there in the city, but I can't pinpoint it," Imra said, shrugging her shoulders.

******House of El******

John Kent had the oddest sensation of traveling for a very, very long time in the blink of an eye. He was disoriented and tumbling through the upper atmosphere. The first thing he did after stopping his fall was regain control of his mind. J'onn J'onzz had taught Elizabeth and him these skills when he first learned they were telepaths. With his mental shields firmly in place, John spun around to see where he was. The landmass below him still looked like Kansas so he flew down towards the giant city where Metropolis once was. John flew into the city, grinning in awe, forgetting about his recent battle. Most of the skyscrapers reached over a mile into the air. They were connected to each other by pedestrian walkways at seemingly random places. He watched flying vehicles travel along designated paths between the skyscrapers. Even with all of the changes time brought, John's super hearing picked up the familiar sound of a woman yelling for help. "At least some things never change," he said out loud. He shot to his right a hundred yards and triangulated where the screams were coming from. Superboy sped down into New Metropolis, doing what he was raised to do.

John found the woman who had been yelling trapped in a dead-end alley. Six thugs wearing hideous masks were approaching her carrying sticks with glowing ends. "Come on –do, girl –do," the thug in the lead said, "You know, -do that you want to give it up to us all, -do." He handed his stick to the closest gang member and started taking off his pants. John was focused on the scene taking place in the alley and didn't see what he was floating in front of.

"_**I don't which reason makes me want to kick this guy's ass more; attempted rape or slaughtering grammar?**__" _John wondered, his parent's "day jobs" rubbing off on him. Not really caring which, John came in low and _fast. _One moment the gang leader was dropping his pants, the next he was simply gone. The remaining gang members wasted precious seconds looking around for their leader. A whoosh of air and the one holding the leader's stick was abducted. Two of the gang members thought that the woman might be a Meta and attacked her. They slumped to the ground after their heads slammed together. The remaining two ran as fast as they could to the mouth of the alley where John was waiting for him. He was standing in the middle of the entrance to the alley with his arms crossed, a stern look on his face.

The thugs slid to a stop and stared at him for a moment, their mouths agape. They looked at each other and screamed in pure terror. After they ran out of breath, they ran past John who just let them go. He had planned on giving them a warning and maybe put some fear into them, but judging from their reactions, that would have been a bit of overkill. John shrugged his shoulders and went to check on the woman who was still crouched at the rear of the alley in terror.

John held out his hand to the frightened woman. "You're safe now," he said in the soothing Kent voice. The woman took his hand and allowed him to help her up. The shock of her attack began to fade and she became aware of her surroundings. She took a good look at John and studied his face. "You should head home. I'll clean up here," he offered. She nodded, feeling an odd sense of having seen his face somewhere before. The woman left John at the end of the alley and made it to the safety of the entrance. She looked out across the street and was able to see the Plaza of Fallen Heroes. Jon-El stood as he had for a thousand years, barring Evil's path. She drew in a loud gasp and her eyes grew wide. She turned around and looked at the young man wearing the red leather jacket. The symbol was burned off, but there was no doubt in her mind that he was son of the great Kal-El. She made the sign of the "S" on her chest. She ran to the Church to let them know of his return.

Brainiac was patrolling over New Metropolis with Imra. She had asked for his company as she looked for whatever it was that had shaken her up so much. "Imra, something is going on over by the Plaza. I can hear something breaking the sound barrier repeatedly and that is Do-gang territory," he called out. "We should go check it out in case they have found a new weapon to terrorize the locals with," he suggested. They changed their flight path and flew across town as fast as Imra was able. They landed in the alley Brainiac had located and found a man in anachronistic blue jeans and a red leather jacket with his back to them. The man was using metal beams from a scrap heap to wrap up four Do-gang members. He turned around and smiled at them, a warm, charming smile. Imra recognized the young man from the countless books she had read on him. She was about to say something, but Brainiac beat her to it. His reaction was unexpected.

"John!" Brainiac yelled. He ran to John and before the young man could react; Brianiac-5 (the greatest Kryptonian AI ever devised) pulled him into a passionate kiss, tongue and all. Both "men" pushed each other away at the same time spitting and wiping their mouths on their sleeves.

"What the hell?" John shouted. One of his father's greatest enemies had just slipped him the tongue. John spat again trying to get the taste of Brainiac out of his mouth.

"Oh that's just great!" Brainiac screamed. He kicked the wall next to him, putting a large dent in the supposedly indestructible metal. "Posses one Kryptonite infected meta-human and it turns out she's busy downloading her wetware into you at the same time," he complained. "Thanks, you sneaky bitch! You could have at least warned me you had a thing for John," Brainiac yelled at himself. Imra had been wondering how an AI had developed an addiction to caffeine, now she knew.

In later interviews for romantic histories, Imra Kent would be asked what her most memorable kiss was. She would laugh and tell them it was the one John and Brainy had shared. Imra told them that had she not witnessed it, she would have looked at the young man standing in the alley as the great Superhero, Jon-El; the person she had researched so much about. Instead, she had been able to see the "human" side of him right off the bat and would always think of him John Kent.

Looking at the gang members, Imra decided to address John by his work title for now. She grinned from ear to ear; glad to have finally met him. "Hello Superboy. I'm Saturn Girl and this Brainy," she introduced herself and her friend. "I'm a friend of your father's. Welcome to New Metropolis," she said and offered her hand. John took it and she felt a spark at his touch. It was a tactile version of the flash she had felt earlier. "Would you like to come back with us to Legion Headquarters so we can figure out what is going on?" Imra asked him.

"Sure, but let me put the trash out at the curb first," John joked. He went over and picked up all four of the gang members he had bound together. He held them over his head as he walked past Imra and Brainy.

When John was almost at the alley entrance, Imra leaned over to Brainy and whispered, "The books never mentioned what a cute ass he has."

Brainy found himself staring at John's jean clad butt. "Tell me about it," he agreed. Brainy caught himself and made a pained face. He smacked his forehead several times saying, "NO! Stop it! Not funny, Chloe!"

John came back and found Imra trying hard not to laugh and "Brainy" giving her mock dirty looks. "Did I miss something?" he asked.

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Imra told him, "Let's go before Brainy offers to do something indecent in this alley." The three heroes flew off with Brainy in the lead, not trusting himself to follow the young Kryptonian. Imra was second and looked behind her to make sure John was following. She caught him checking her out. Their eyes met and he blushed like a schoolboy. In a bold move Imra smiled at John's roving glances, giving them her approval. Normally, she would ignore them just like she did when she caught Garth or one of the other red (or green) blooded males at the Legion checking her out. However, John looking at her sent a thrill through her body that started at her head and only made it half way down before stopping. John smiled back, still blushing.

In what seemed like a too short of time for Imra, the three heroes arrived at Legion Headquarters. The heroes milling around looked with questioning gazes at the newcomer Imra and Brainiac had brought. Imra led John to a room that her name on it. "John, there is a lot if information that we have to share. As telepaths, we can do this a lot more efficiently if we do it mind to mind. That way we won't miss any details that we might forget to ask about," Imra suggested. "Normally I wouldn't suggest something this _intimate_ with a stranger, but with the war, we need all of the intelligence we can get as soon as we can get it. I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it could help save lives," she told him.

Having had his sister ride shotgun in his brain on more than one mission, John wasn't put off at all. "No problem, Imra," he said. He tapped his head like his sister did. "If I have anything up here that will help save lives, you're more than welcome to it," offered.

"Thanks, John," Imra said gratefully. She reached over and gave his hand a small squeeze. Again she felt the tingle contact with him brought. "Brainy, we will have to meditate and focus our energies. I've never attempted to share memories with a Kryptonian before, so I'm not sure how long this will take," she told her friend.

Brainy smiled and pulled a chair over from a lounge down the hall. "I'll hold all your calls," Brainiac said as he sat down.

Imra and John sat down in the middle of the floor in her living room. "Ok, so what do we do?" John asked.

"First we need to lower our mental shields. We can start with voice chants to see if that helps us get our thoughts on the same track. Eventually we should start to feel each other's presence inside our own minds and we can start sharing the information," Imra instructed. She watched the handsome young man take a cleansing breath and center himself. "All right, take my hands and we'll start with…" her sentence died as she was engulfed by the memories of Jonathan Samuel Kent's entire life. John was similarly unprepared to have a full download of Imra's life suddenly flow into him.

John examined the memories as a whole, not focusing on any one thing. He knew everything she did about the new House of El. He also knew that as a child, her pet had been a Titan cat named Vic. John knew her favorite ice cream flavor and her pain at attending too many Legion funerals. Imra knew John's love for his family and his true hatred of injustice. She knew his undying loyalty to his friends and his favorite YouTube Holo-Vid. They knew each other's finest moments. They also knew each other's deepest, darkest secrets and worse feelings of shame. Still, they accepted each other completely. Because of the memories they now shared, they knew that such a full exchange shouldn't have been possible. Grins spreads across their faces as their joined consciousness came up with the answer. Their minds were operating on exactly the same frequency. Her soul was an echo to his.

Their minds separated until they were separate entities again. They opened their eyes and looked at each other, still grinning. "_**WOW! So that's what happens when your soulmate is a fellow telepath. I'm impressed!**_" John heard the newly named Imra-El's cheerful voice in his head.

John reached over and stroked Imra's cheek. "_**It sure beats the hell out of a long engagement,**_" he replied in her mind. Imra chuckled. Imra brought her hands up on either side of John's face and kissed him. He returned the kiss of his soulmate, opening his lips to invite her tongue. Imra took him up on the invitation and their tongues slowly swirled in and around each other's mouths. They stopped so Imra could take a breath. Imra stood and took her new lover's hand. She led him to her bedroom, wanting his first time to be somewhere more special than the living room floor.

Imra took John's battered jacket and tossed it into the corner. She ran her hand over his red tee-shirt, feeling his strong chest and abs. She grabbed the shirt and pulled it over his head. Imra bit her lip slightly as she looked at his naked chest. Again, the history books hadn't mentioned anything about how sexy he was. She ran her finger tips down his chest and then pulled him in for more kissing. Imra felt the hardness in his jeans pressing against her and couldn't wait to feel it inside of her. She broke free of his kisses again and looked at the archaic fastening devices of his pants. John smiled and slowly unbuttoned his jeans and slid the zipper down. Imra nodded her thanks and pulled his jeans down and then off of him, leaving John clad only in his red boxers. On the way back up, Imra let her hand slide up the large bulge in his boxers, feeling the warmth and hardness. She hooked a thumb in the waistband and pulled these off as well. Imra took a step back to admire her man and take off her costume. Her costume landed in the heap of clothes at their feet.

John said a silent prayer of thanks that his soulmate turned out to be so stunningly gorgeous. She stood in front of him totally nude in body as she had been in mind moments before. Her blonde hair spilled out around her shoulders. Her breasts weren't large by any means, but on her petite frame they seemed perfect. She kept her pubic hair well trimmed and like most Titans, the hair below matched the hair above. John reached for Imra and she stepped into his arms. He brought both of hands to her breasts and stroked her nipples with his thumbs. She let out a little a moan of pleasure. Imra lay down on the bed and John felt a presence in his mind. He opened up to her and a now small part of his mind was feeling what she was. He felt the warmth between her legs and the need she had for him. John lightly stroked her delicate folds and felt that in the back of his mind as well. Imra reached over and gave his cock a gentle tug. She smiled at the wonderful sensations it produced in John.

John used his ability to feel her pleasure to guide him as he put his mouth between Imra's legs. Soon they had a pleasurable rhythm going that had Imra bucking on the bed and grabbing John's hair, screaming in ecstasy. Though her mind was clouded by her climax, Imra felt John's need and still had needs of her own. She pulled him up and eased his large cock into her. They almost blacked out at the feedback loop of pleasure. John dialed back their connection and began thrusting into his lover. He went slow at first, taking time to kiss her and run his hands over her breasts. Eventually Imra grabbed his ass and began desperate rocking as her second climax neared. Not caring for the consequences, John rejoined their mental connection. Their unshielded, simultaneous orgasm sent a mental blast through city caused most psychics to have instantaneous orgasms of their own.

Phantom Girl was walking down the hall and saw Brianiac-5 sitting in a chair outside of Saturn Girl's room. "Hey, Brainy. Everything all right with Imra?" she asked about her friend.

"Yes, she's fine. Jon-El has returned to the time stream and they are meditating, sharing information by way of telepathy. Imra said it might take a while," Brainiac said. Phantom Girl was speechless. She had never believed in the prediction that Jon-El was not really dead and would return someday. She was dying of curiosity to see the legendary hero. Using her intangibility, she would be able to get a peek at him without disturbing their meditation. She shifted out of phase and passed into Imra's room. She quickly rematerialized in the hallway, blushing.

"Brainy, if Jon-El ever offers to give classes in 'meditation' let me now. I want to be the first to sign up," Phantom Girl said. She went straight to her room, needing to take care of her sudden needs.

******House of El******

**Kent Farm 2029**

Lois was sitting on the couch in the living room with her legs drawn up under her. She had a glass of wine in her hand. She was trying hard to keep it all together. Rokk and Imra had come back empty handed when they went to rescue her oldest child, John. The thought drew her eyes down to her other child who sitting on the floor next to the easy chair. Elizabeth was splitting her attention between drawing with colored pencils and watching the TV. Lois turned her head and watched Clark and Martha working in the kitchen to prepare dinner. On a family dinner night, John would have been in the kitchen helping his dad and grandmother. Lois took another long sip of wine. She had stopped drinking years ago, but the loss of her son had been too much to bear. Lois looked back over at Elizabeth who was giving the TV her full attention. Little Elizabeth had a quizzical look on her face. Lois checked her watch to make sure one of _those_ shows wasn't on yet.

Elizabeth put her drawing down and went to her mother. "Mommy, what is a…'sister-in-law'?" Elizabeth asked, saying the unfamiliar word slowly.

Lois was grateful it wasn't another question like she asked when she walked in on her and Clark last week. "You know that Aunt Lucy is my sister, right?" Lois asked. Elizabeth nodded her head. "Because your daddy had the very good sense to marry me, Lucy became his 'sister-in-law'. Lucy is Daddy's sister now too," Lois told her.

Elizabeth scrunched up her face in thought. "That means that Daddy is Lucy's brother, right?" Elizabeth asked, making sure she understood.

"That's right, Sweetie," Lois replied.

Elizabeth became very excited. "That means that Johnny's wife will be my sister. Cool, I always wanted a sister!" she exclaimed. She bounced back to where she had been sitting before and started drawing again. Clark had come out of the kitchen. He had heard the entire conversation. Clark put his hand on Lois' shoulder to comfort her. Lois looked up into his blue eyes, tears in her own. Clark was thinking of how to explain to Elizabeth that they may never find John again when typical to her Lane blood, Elizabeth threw him a curveball.

"Imra is so cool, it's neat that she is a telepath like Johnny and me," Elizabeth said. Lois was amazed at how quickly the little girl could change topics. Clark had leaned forward, not sure she had.

"Elly, have you _seen_ Johnny recently," Clark asked, daring to get his hopes up. His children shared a mental link that the Fortress had not been able to measure fully. The children had fried the sensors.

Elizabeth looked up from her drawing. "Duh, Smallville… I mean Daddy… what do you think Mommy and I have been talking about?" Elizabeth asked, rolling her eyes in true Lane fashion. It was Lois' turn to lean forward, her attention fully captured.

"Sweetie, is Johnny with Imra," Clark asked in a hushed tone.

Elizabeth got another confused look. She looked at her parents liked they had become stupid all of a sudden. "I'm pretty sure they have to be in order to get married, even in Imra's time," she said sarcastically. Clark and Lois laughed in relief. Elizabeth showed her parents the drawing she had been working on. Like most of her work, it was startling in its realism due to her Kryptonian eidetic memory. The drawing was of John in a variation of his father's suit. Imra was wearing a much sexier version of the costume she now wore with the Saturn symbol replaced with the El House shield.

"Does John make it back to us," Lois asked her daughter.

"How should I know? Do I look like a Magic 8 ball to you, Mommy?" Elizabeth shot back at her mother. Elizabeth was always frustrated at her pre-cog visions and how they seemed to show up at random.

"_**The attitude is definitely a sex linked trait in the Lane family**__," _Clark mused, "_**I better act fast before I have a rumble in the living room**__."_ Clark stepped in between Lois and Elizabeth. "Magic 8 ball, huh? Let's find out," he said. Clark picked Elizabeth up and held her upside down. He then began tickling her tummy. Clark tickled until Elizabeth was giggling maniacally and Lois had finally smiled. "Will Elizabeth Kent get desert tonight?" Clark asked his inverted daughter.

"Most definitely," Elizabeth said between squeals of laughter.

Clark put her down. "Go get Bruce and Dick and tell them it's time to eat," Clark told his daughter. She scurried off to the barn. Clark pulled Lois off of the couch and took the wineglass from her hand. He put it down on the end table and then kissed his wife passionately. Lois returned his kiss.

"Thanks, Smallville. I needed that," Lois said truthfully. "How about we tell Rokk and Garth about this after they go pick up Junior and Cassy?" she suggested. "Tonight I need some time alone with my Superman. Then I'll have the strength I need to find our son and kick his ass for not inviting us to his wedding that _apparently_ won't happen for another 1,000 years," Lois stated, shaking her head.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**New Metropolis – 31****st**** Century**

After they had made love, Imra had reached over to her nightstand and pulled out a silk bag. "There's something I want to give you," she said. Imra opened the bag and took out a gold ring emblazoned with the Legion's symbol. "I don't want you to feel like you're trapped here. You can go back to your own time whenever you want. All you have to do is press down on the top and concentrate on when you want to be transported to," she explained. She handed the ring to John, who slipped it on his finger.

"You know I won't go anywhere without you," John replied, taking Imra's hands in his. He kissed the tips of her fingers.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Imra whispered. "That just leaves one question; _when_ do we live? Your place or mine?" she asked. John thought for a moment.

"Considering that if I go back, I risk screwing up the future. We should probably stay here," John decided. Imra kissed him passionately. John looked at his Legion ring. "Back where I come from, it's usually the guy who gives his lady a ring," he teased her.

"We Titans have always prided ourselves on being more progressives than Terrans," Imra said, tossing her hair. John ran his hand over her shoulder.

"Aren't you forgetting something? A question, maybe?" John prodded, a twinkle in his eye.

Imra thought about Terran dating rituals and realized what he was referring to. On Titan they had a different ritual, but she smiled and asked with all of heart, "Jonathan Samuel Kent, will you marry me?" she asked him.

"Yes, Imra my love. I will marry you, but I'm keeping my last name," he joked.

"That's good, because I'm planning on changing mine to Kent. It would have been weird if you changed yours to Ardeen," she laughed. Imra reached over and turned off the light. She cuddled into the arms of her fiancé. A man that paradoxically she had met only that day, but knew every moment of his life up until that point, just as he knew hers. John knew every detail about her and he loved her completely. Imra fell asleep in arms feeling completely safe for the first time since she left her family on Titan.

The sun rose as it always did and with its life giving rays awoke John Kent. John nuzzled his fiancé's hair. His arm was draped around her and he cupped one of her breasts in his hand. Imra turned around partially to kiss her man. "We need to get up and get dressed," she told him. "We also need to find you something to wear other than what you showed up in," she suggested.

"Why? Don't you like the way I look in jeans?" he teased her. He hadn't budged and still had her breast in his hand. He started kneading it gently.

"You look great in jeans. Brainy agrees with me," Imra assured him. The thought of Brainiac (even a Chloe Sullivan possessed Brainiac) checking out his ass caused his hand to stop. Imra slipped out of bed and kissed John on the cheek. "You're so cute when you're flustered," she teased. Grabbing another Saturn Girl costume out of the closet, Imra kept talking. "The reason you need to wear something else is you showed up wearing the same thing your statue in the Plaza is wearing. Until you feel more comfortable in this time, I think we need to keep 'Superboy' under wraps for now. You saw how those gang members reacted to you," she told him.

John sat up and the sheet slid down to his waist. "Makes sense," he admitted. John flashed his impish grin that could only have come from the Lane family. "Do you have one of those costumes in my size or should I wear this as a toga?" John stood up and wrapped the sheet around him. He had meant it as a joke, but he had spent so much time on the Island of Themyscira that he folded the toga to meet Diana's standards without thinking.

Imra stared at his half bare chest and was sorely tempted to delay their day. She shook her head to clear it. "_**Later**__," _she promised herself_. _"I'm going to go find someone who might have something you can borrow," she said before her resolve faded. Imra made her way quickly into the hall and took a deep breath.

Brainy was still sitting in the chair from last night. He gave her a knowing wink and a smile. Then he rolled his eyes and muttered, "Will you give it a rest, Chloe!" He gave Imra a pleading look. "We have to figure out a way to get her subroutine shut down. She spent all night replaying her erotic High School fantasies involving Kal-El… in _graphic_ detail," he moaned. "She's torturing me. One thing your precious history books never talked about was how vindictive Chloe Sullivan could be," Brainiac complained.

"You started it," Imra reminded him.

"Well Yeah! I was a bad guy, and damn good at it; but now I'm one of the good guys and she doesn't need to hold a grudge," the AI pouted. Imra bit her lip to keep from laughing and set off in search of someone John's size.

John had been waiting in Imra's room for about half an hour when she finally returned. A gravely male voice came from the other room. "Riiiiight. You've got Jon-El in your bedroom. Either you're yanking my leash; or you and Phantom Girl have been down to the bar on level 5 sector 10 again," the voice said. "How many times did I warn you guys that Phantom Zone comes in two colors now?" he asked. Curious, John tried to access those particular memories from that night and found them hazy at best and some completely missing. John opened the bedroom door and walked out. He saw the "man" Imra was talking to. He looked like a werewolf walking on its hind legs. His face was more human than wolf, allowing for speech and facial expression. The wolfman's eyebrow was raised at John's appearance.

"Hi, I'm John Kent," John introduced himself.

"Uh… Hi, Brinn Londo, but people around here call me Timberwolf," Timberwolf said. He looked at John intently, trying to tell if he was part of a prank. The young man's face was remarkably similar, if not identical, to the statue in the Plaza of Fallen Heroes. John noticed him staring.

"How sharp and strong are those claws?" John asked.

"I can cut through some types of durasteel, why?" Timberwolf replied.

John slid the toga on aside partially, exposing more of his chest. "Give it a try. Don't worry. You won't be able to hurt me," John said with a friendly, non-challenging smile. Imra could tell from John's tone of voice that he wasn't trying to turn this into a pissing contest; he only wanted to prove his identity the quickest way possible. Timberwolf stepped forward and gently drug his claws across the young man's chest. He figured that a few scars would teach him not to impersonate the legendary hero. When his claws failed to draw blood, he applied more and more pressure. At the end of his stroke, Timberwolf was putting most of his weight behind it. He drew back his hand and saw the unmarked skin. Timberwolf held his own hand in front of his face as if it had betrayed him. Suddenly twin red beams of heat shot from John's eyes and lit the hair on the top of his hand on fire. The fire was put out just as quickly by a blast of super powered breath.

Imra slapped John's arm. "Thanks, now it's going to smell like burnt dog hair in here," she complained. She walked over to the far wall and began adjusting the climate control settings to try to get rid of the smell.

Timberwolf gave out a short barking laugh. "I'll give you this Kryptonian; you're the most human acting person from New Krypton I've ever met. All you've managed to show me is what planet you're from. That doesn't prove you're the great Jon-El," he challenged. Timberwolf looked at Imra, "Tell you what, let Saturn Girl have a go at your mind and we'll see." Imra blushed deeply and stepped over to John. She slid her hand into John's.

"Brinn, I all ready have. Trust me, this _**is**_ Jon-El from the history books; but he is so much more than that. He's Jonathan Samuel Kent, and that's what is going to stop this war," she told her friend proudly.

Timberwolf tossed John his off-duty clothes. "Here you are, Superboy," he said a little shell shocked, never once doubting Saturn Girl's ability to read the thoughts of another. John went back into the bedroom to change. Timberwolf looked at Imra who was almost glowing with happiness. He took a deep breath in through his nose and cataloged the odors from the last 24 hours. His eyes grew wide when he recognized certain odors that came from the bedroom. Imra saw his expression and blushed again. "Hey, none of my business," he said. Wanting to let his friend off the hook, he changed the subject. "Where are you two going this morning?" Timberwolf asked.

"I thought I should take him to the Superman Museum. John and I shared memories, but it might help him if he sees what has gone on for himself," Imra said. "Plus, Prelate Jecarn has his office there and we should probably let the Church know Jon-El has finally decided to show up again," she stated.

"I'm not on the patrol schedule today. Mind if I tag along? It's not every day you get to bring a legend to a museum built specifically about his family," Timberwolf asked.

The door to the bedroom opened and John was wearing the loose orange and brown tunic he had borrowed. The hem of the shirt hung down well below the waist band and pockets of the blue jeans he had put back on. John gave the other two a sheepish grin, "I couldn't figure out how to work the fastener." He tossed the pants with said fastening device back to Timberwolf.

"It'll have to do. At least the shirt covers your ass. Now maybe Brainy won't be spending so much time trying to watch how cute it is when you walk," Imra said with a wink. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed her fiancé on the cheek. Timberwolf again raised his eyebrow in an unspoken question. "I'll tell you about on the way," she promised.

On the way to the museum, Brainy wanted to hit Timberwolf, but his restructured programming prevented it. Every time Timberwolf looked over at him, he gave out a suppressed version of his barking laugh. He had been doing it ever since Imra had told him about "the event" in the alley. Brainiac was truly thankful when they reached the front steps of the Superman Museum. His relief changed to frustration however when he read the multi-language, multi-visual spectrum sign that said the museum was closed for a private tour. It didn't say when they would reopen. The group sat down on the steps to figure out what they should do next. Before they could plan, they were interrupted by Prelate Jecarn.

Prelate Jecarn was dressed in his everyday work robes. They looked like what ancient professors wore in boarding schools during the 20th and 21st centuries. Underneath it he wore casual civilian attire. These were not the clothes one expected the highest ranking member of the Church of Superman to wear when he greeted the son of Superman. "Hello, friends. Ready for your tour?" he asked. They all looked up, surprised. He gave them a wink. "I thought that it would be best not to have the public here for our young friend," he looked at John, "The woman you saved last night was a rather _devoted_ member of the Church and came here right after you saved her. It was only a matter of time before you came to visit," he explained with a wave of his hand to the museum. John picked up on the pained way Jecarn had said "devoted". "Shall we then? You'll have to forgive me, I haven't led a tour group in ages," he confided. Jecarn held out a hand to each one in turn and helped them to their feet, except for Brainiac. He made it a point to show that he wanted no physical contact with one of Superman's greatest foes.

Jecarn led them through several rooms that detailed how the House of El had changed over the last 1,000 years. In the 25th century, the family had left Earth permanently and relocated to New Krypton. Shortly thereafter, they cut off all ties to the planet that had raised the last son of Krypton. Jecarn told them that in his opinion, that was the first sign of the decline of the Great House of El. As time away from their "human" roots progressed, they became cruel and indifferent, just like many Kryptonians had been before the fall of Krypton.

"Wonderful, my great-great-etc. nieces and nephews are a bunch of assholes," John said firmly of his sister's descendents. Jecarn was relieved that John felt that way. He wasn't sure if John knew about the prediction or not, but either way, it was up to him to convince Jon-El to challenge Zor-El IV for leadership of the House of El.

"_**It's high time that Great House was ruled by a Kent again**__,_" Jecarn thought. The Prelate glanced at the man he was placing his hopes in and saw him holding hands with the young telepath. "_**Can she be**__…?" _Jecarn wondered. He watched their faces go slack for a moment as they communicated with each other telepathically. John moved his arm her waist and kissed the top of her head. Imra pinched his butt. "_**Soulmates separated by a 1,000 years and they still found each other. Now that is something for the romantic histories**__," _Jecarn thought warmly. John and Imra finished the tour of the House of El room. "Come on you two, let's skip to the highlight ofany tour, the Hall of Superman," he said. Jecarn led them to the center of the museum.

The center of the museum was a three story crystal dome meant to represent the Fortress of Solitude. Along the outside of the circular room were displays and exhibits about Earth's greatest hero. John didn't see any of it. In the center of the room, encased in clear Kryptonian crystals that seemed to have grown out of the floor, were the raiments of leadership his parents wore. John slowly walked to them, the fact that he was a 1,000 years in the future now finally real for him. He stopped before he reached the crystals, his brows knitted in concern. "If these are here, what did Elizabeth wear?" he inquired.

Jecarn laughed. The stories about the Kent family's legendary concern for one another were true. "When your parents retired from house leadership, El-El asked the suits to multiply so your father wouldn't have to come up with another costume," Jecarn explained. "After your father finally passed away, she had the original suits encased in these crystals. She referred to it as 'retiring a jersey'. We don't understand that reference. Now that you're here maybe you can explain what it means," Jecarn asked hopefully.

John looked down at the floor as he thought about his family. "_**Retiring a jersey… sounds like Elly**__," _he thought. Imra was standing next to John as he held out his hand to touch the crystal that housed the only physical reminder of his parents. As soon as his hand touched the crystal, a vibration began to rattle through it. The vibration increased in intensity and frequency so quickly that John pulled Imra away and shielded her with his body. Timberwolf pulled Jecarn behind a display. Brainiac, familiar with Kryptonian technology, simply stood his ground. The outer shell of the crystal shattered and fell to the ground at the base, leaving the interior accessible.

John helped Imra up. Together they stood before the suits. Jecarn crawled out from underneath Timberwolf. "Fascinating! It had a DNA lock on it keyed to you specifically, Jon-El. It must have been another one of your sister's pre-cog episodes. She told historians they had tapered off in adulthood. She must not have been entirely forth coming," Jecarn mused. "Jon-El, this brings up a difficult question, but one I must ask you. You are the first child of Kal-El and have a rightful claim as Head of the House. Will you challenge Zor-El IV for House leadership and bring an end to this pointless war? More importantly, from our viewpoint, will you bring the House of El back into the light where it belongs?" Jecarn asked solemnly.

Imra answered before John could speak. "No _HE _won't!" she shouted. She looked into her lover's eyes and took his hand. She sent an empathic blast into his mind. John squeezed her hand in love and thanks. "_WE_ will challenge that piece of trash together. We will show him what a true Head of the House of El can do and bring the family back to Earth, where it belongs," she said with conviction. Together the young couple reached forward and touched the raiments of leadership, confident in their combined beliefs in hope, justice, and kindness. A blue light emanated from the crystal and engulfed the room. Timberwolf, Jecarn, and even Brainiac had to turn away from the blinding. When the light died down, the crystal was gone and Jon-El and Imra were standing in their new suits. The raiments had accepted their claim.

Jecarn stood in amazement at what he was seeing. He had read all of the histories and seen all of the holo-vid reenactments, but nothing could prepare him for watching the creation of a new Head of the House of El. Jecarn looked at the two heroes and their suits, trying to drink in every detail for later documentation. John was now clad in a suit that resembled his fathers. The main part of the suit was blue with the iconic red and yellow pentagon on his chest. There were, however, some major changes. A red stripe started under each wrist, ran up his arms and then ran all the way down his sides into his boots. The belt and red bikini were gone; the nano-machines had finally figured out how to conceal a man's privates and still keep the look of a skin tight suit. Imra's suit had decided to model itself after the costume she had been wearing. It was a white one piece including the boots. The red Saturn symbol had been replaced by the El house shield. The shield had rings around it, signifying her ties to her planet. The suit had a large oval cut out that started just below her sternum and ended a few inches below her naval. The cutout was bordered in red. Both Imra and John wore the iconic red cape with the yellow pentagon.

John looked at Imra and all thoughts of fighting an interstellar war fled from his mind. "_**Wait until we get home. We get to play find the hidden catch," **_John projected into Imra's mind. "_**My parents told me that each new suit comes up with a different place to put it,**_" he told her. Imra raised her eyebrows at him suggestively.

A cough from Brainiac brought them back to their surroundings. "I don't mean to intrude, but we have a war to plan, and if you hadn't noticed, we are outnumbered, out gunned, and out funded," Brainiac pointed out. "Not that I'm complaining mind you. I just wanted my employers to know what we faced before we got started," he stated.

"Employers, Brainy? We're your friends," Imra told him.

"Be that as it may, but I was programmed to serve the true House of El. When you lot brought be back on line, you re-enabled that directive. That is my primary purpose, well that and apparently driving myself insane with the help of one Chloe Sullivan," he said glumly.

John put his hand on Brainiac's shoulder. "I accept your services Brain Interactive Construct. It's good to finally have you working correctly," John said. Brainy would have cried if he been able to. The acceptance of Jor-El's grandson as Head of the House meant more than he would ever be able to express. Brainiac put his hand on top of John's, unable to speak. "As for all of the challenges you listed, I agree, we have some difficulties to overcome. I don't know where to come up with guns or money, but I can think of two new members for the Legion right off the top of my head," John said confidently. "It's time to bring Trinity back on line. Brainy, tell me, what do these temporal coordinates mean?" he asked and then rattled off the second set the Martian Manhunter had received. John was using the memories he had downloaded from Imra. Brainy translated them into a date format he would understand.

Finally, the understanding of what had happened to his mother's cousin dawned on him. "It's too big of a coincidence that Chloe disappeared the same day that you were supposed to pick up Junior and Cassy," John said. "Zor-El must have sent back another assassin," he concluded. John's eyes lit up as he grinned. He stepped into his role as leader as naturally as his parents had. "Timberwolf, you're with Imra and me. Brainy, I think Chloe would freak out if she saw you again before we could explain. We'll meet you back at headquarters," John ordered.

"John, Rokk and Garth were going to pick them up," Imra reminded him.

"Cassy and Junior are family and therefore our responsibility," John said firmly. He softened a little. "I'll apologize to Rokk and Garth later, I promise. Besides, I have a feeling about this," he said.

Brainy turned as if to leave but stopped. He looked over his shoulder at John and Imra. "Be careful you two. If you find Chloe, see if she'll come back with you. Maybe if the subroutine sees she isn't dead, it will shut down," he said hopefully. Brainy thought about the suit the young man had chosen to wear and the responsibilities he shoulder just by putting it on. "One last thing, welcome to your new home… Superman," he said proudly.

**Kent Farm – 2004**

Lois was sitting in the barn with Cassy. Junior was sulking in the rocking chair on the front porch. Cassy had just finished explaining what Junior had tried to do. Lois was furious. "You're telling me my cousin disappears tonight and you're not going to do a thing about it?" she demanded.

Cassy looked down in shame. "Aunt Lois, we can't change what happens, it can destroy things," she tried to explain. "It could very well have erased Tee'Oliver if Chloe hadn't figured out what was going on," she said, tears streaking her face.

"You've told me that Clark and I help raise you. If that's so, then you would know that Clark wouldn't just let her die. He would fight for her and find a way to make things right," Lois snapped.

Cassy turned on Lois, her eyes glowing red. "Don't you think I know that," she yelled. "Don't think for a single moment that I don't hear his voice or my mothers' telling me what is right!" she shouted. The fire left her eyes and Cassy deflated, dropping to the steps leading to the loft. "Lois, I can't risk losing my soulmate; not when there is something I can do about it," Cassy said, her spirit torn.

Lois tried to look at things through the young woman's eyes and imagine what she would do to protect Clark. She knew she would do just about anything, to anybody, to protect Clark; but she also knew what he could live with. "Cassy, you have to make this decision for yourself. I understand now how you feel, and I won't judge you. I just hope you _and _Junior can live with your decision," she said hugging the younger woman. Cassy cried on Lois' shoulder for a moment and then stood.

Cassy finally looked Lois in the eyes and Lois could see peace, but a sad resignation in them. "Thanks Aunt Lois, you always did know what to say," Cassy said as she walked briskly toward the barn door. Lois' phone rang once. She looked at the caller ID that said simply Chloe. Lois showed it to Cassy who ran out of the barn yelling, "Gear up, Archer! We have work to do!"

Chloe walked back to her apartment feeling more at peace than she had in years. She suddenly had the urge to call Lois and tell her everything was going to be ok. Chloe fished her cell-phone out of her purse and was in the process of dialing when she heard a deep growl coming from the alley on her right. Chloe turned towards the noise and then dropped her phone as she stumbled backwards. Chloe fell and tried to scoot away from the hideous creature that was slowly walking out of the alley towards her. Chloe could only describe it as _something_ that looked similar to a hairless dog that stood 10 feet tall. Its glowing white skin had random dark patches on it. Along its spine and shoulders were two foot long spikes. Like a dog it had teeth and claws developed for tearing into the flesh of its prey. Around its huge neck was a collar that bore the old "8" symbol for the House of El. Chloe screamed as the huge creature brought its mighty jaws down on her. She closed her eyes at the last moment. When the bite never landed, Chloe opened her eyes. A blue clad arm was holding the monsters jaw away from her. A red cape billowed around the legs of her protector.

"_**Thank god Clark is back**__," _Chloe thought. "_**That's another one I owe the big guy**__."_ Chloe looked closer at the suit and saw it had changed from when she had seen it just last week. She looked further up and stared in shock at the face she hadn't seen in person for six years. John "Clarkson" had returned and was dressed in his father's House of El suit.

"Hi Chloe, how've you been?" John asked with the patented Kent charm. A very large paw knocked him through the side of a building. John quickly recovered and stood in the opening he had just caused. Tilting his head to the side, John tried to guess what the creature was. "Bad… _dog?" _he scolded the beast. _ "_I was trying to catch up with an old friend," John told the beast. He looked around to see what he had to work with and smiled. "_**What do you do with a bad dog?**__" _John asked himself, "_**You hit him with a rolled up newspaper of course**__." _John grabbed a newspaper machine and smashed the creature across the face with it. The machine shredded, sending copies of the Daily Planet everywhere. The Kryptonian beast looked a tad peeved.

"Superman, I think it's a Kryptonian desert beast. It has the same resistances as you do," Imra yelled. She saw John mouth some words she was sure he learned from his mother rather than his father. Imrae landed near Chloe and picked her up, flying her to safety. Timberwolf used his ring to fly over to them, hoping to give the women whatever protection he could.

Imra landed and turned to watch John fight the creature. The much larger creature had the advantage. "Thanks for the save back there. My name is Chloe Sullivan," Chloe offered, holding out her hand.

Imra shook her hand. "Saturn Girl. This is Timberwolf," she said introducing herself and Brinn. She watched intently as John was knocked through another wall. He returned with a flying broadside that slammed the creature into the opposite building.

"I take it you guys are friends of John's," Chloe observed.

Without glancing back, Imra said, "He's my fiancé." Chloe did a double take. Only then did she notice the El family shield on Saturn Girl's cape.

Cassandra-El had an easy time figuring out where the problem was in Metropolis. She heard the fight half-way to Smallville. On their first pass over the carnage, they saw the huge creature knock someone into a wall. They also saw Chloe, well out of harm's way, being protected by a woman in a white costume and what looked like a werewolf dressed in yellow and black. When Cassy came around for another pass, she saw the creature had been slammed into the side of a building. Junior held up his hand and made a series of hand and finger gestures signifying what attack plan they should use. Cassandra gripped him tighter once, signaling she agreed. She changed her flight path and came in fast down the middle of the street. Cassy let go of Tee'Oliver who rolled into a kneeling position, his bow drawn. An arrow sped to its target and bounced harmlessly off its impenetrable hide.

"Save your arrows, Junior. It's Kryptonian," John said, climbing out of the third building he had been thrown into that night.

Tee'Oliver looked over at his best friend, relief flooding through him. "Where have you been?" Junior asked casually, his calm voice at odds with the battle going on in the street.

"Here and then," John joked. "You know, the usual stuff. Cassy with you?" he asked.

"Right here, Cousin," Cassy said as she landed near John. She was dying to ask him about the suit, but knew it could wait. "Kryptonian, huh? How about we try a Zod contingency?" she asked the members of her team.

John looked at Junior. "You have it with you?" he asked.

Junior patted his belt pouch. "Never leave home without it. Something Bruce once told me," he quipped. John smiled, glad to have Trinity back. He tapped Junior on the shoulder and walked out into the middle of the street with Cassy. Junior rolled into position a few yards behind them and opened up a lead lined case. John and Cassy stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking Junior from view. Junior removed the special Kryptonite tip and fixed it to an arrow. He whistled once to let the others know he was ready. John could feel the effects of the green Kryptonite even at this range. He yelled at the beast and waved his hands to get its attention. The creature looked directly at him and let out a window shattering howl. John listened for the muscles to relax in Junior's hand as he let go of the bow string. John leapt into the air and flew towards the beast at _exactly_ the same speed as the arrow. Trinity had practiced the Zod contingency over and over again until they had been able to do it perfectly. Any Kryptonian could move fast enough to get past an arrow, but they couldn't avoid what they couldn't see. John kept his body between the creature and the speeding arrow, blocking it from view. He felt his strength draining and summoned everything he could to change course at the last second. He dove under the Kryptonian desert beast right before the Kryptonite arrow ripped through the monster's eye on its way to the brain. The beast was dead before it fell over. When it did reach the ground, the failsafe in the collar activated the return code and the creature disappeared into time.

Standing up, John brushed debris off of his suit. He braced himself as Cassy and Junior rushed him, their arms outstretched for a hug. John returned the hugs and led them to where Imra and Timberwolf where standing guard over Chloe. "Come on, there's someone I want you to meet," he said proudly. Tee'Oliver and Cassy held hands as they walked behind John. When they reached Imra, Cassy's hand tightened on Junior's when she saw the El family crest on her suit and the iconic red cape. "Tee'Oliver Queen… Cassandra Kent, I would like you to meet my friend Brinn Londo and my soulmate, Imra Ardeen," John said, taking Imra's hand.

Cassy hugged Imra and said, "Welcome to the family. Love the suit, by the way." She stepped back and held Junior's hand. Imra nudged John and nodded to his friends. Cassy noticed and said, "Oh all right, you caught us. Junior and I figured out we were meant for each other. He's my soulmate." Imra smiled at John, reviewing his memories, she knew that he had seen this coming for years.

John looked over at Chloe who was staring at him in his blue and red suit. "Like I was saying _before_ I got thrown through a building, how have you been, Chloe?" John asked.

Chloe smacked John on the arm. "Well let's see, we can start with the fact that I'm mad at you. First you leave without saying good bye six years ago. Then you drop off your two best friends on your mom and me, causing us nothing but worry; and now you just show up out of the blue as the Head of the House of El from god knows when," Chloe pouted. She tried to give him a stern look. John returned her volley with a "Clark Kent" smile. "Ok, times up. Give me a hug," Chloe relented. John gave the diminutive blonde a good old fashioned farm hug and lifted her off of the ground. When John put her down, Chloe noticed his smile had gone. "What's wrong, John?" Chloe asked.

"We have to go before any of the JLA come to investigate the fight. I wasn't exactly quiet about it," John admitted. "Chloe, I don't know how to say this, but there is no record of you after tonight," John told her.

Chloe glanced at Tee'Oliver and said, "I kinda guessed it was something like that. Now you defeating the monster has altered time, right?" Chloe said pessimistically.

"Possibly, but I don't think it has to," John said. "I found out that Trinity 'died' the day I found that ring. I'm choosing to start a new life with the Legion in the 31st century. We're going back to our time so I can say goodbye and Tee'Oliver and Cassy can choose what they want to do," he explained. John looked at his cousin and best friend who gave him steely eyed looks, their decisions already made. "Chloe, I could use your help in the future. We are fighting a war and I'll need someone who can organize data and see patterns where others can't," John implored.

Chloe put her hand on John's chest. "Stop right there little cousin. You're family. I'm in," she told him. John hugged her again.

"Timberwolf, would you mind taking Chloe to the Museum and bringing her up speed?" John asked. Timberwolf had been checking Chloe out and had decided that blue jeans were in definite need of a revival in the 31st century. He was quite taken by the petite blonde. He even liked how she smelled under the perfume she wore.

"Glad to, Superman," Timberwolf agreed wholeheartedly. Brinn offered his arm to Chloe. "May I be the first to show you the future, my lady?" Timberwolf asked Chloe.

"_**He's pretty charming for a werewolf**__," _Chloe thought in surprise. She put her arm through his and said, "I would be delighted." Chloe gave a parting glance at John "Clarkson". "Hurry with whatever you are planning, and don't give me that I'm not planning anything line. I recognize that look in your eyes from the one Lois gets just about every other day. Just get it done and hurry back. As family, I can't wait to grill your fiancé," Chloe told him mischievously. Chloe and Timberwolf disappeared in a ball of expanding light.

"OK, so you are planning something aren't you..._Superman?" _Cassy asked, emphasizing the new name_._ "And what's with being called 'Superman' all of sudden?" she pressed.

John laughed. "Well, I think as part of the new Head of the House of El, people have a hard time calling me 'Superboy'," John guessed. He looked lovingly into Imra's eyes. "I don't care what people call me as long as I have my other half to complete me," he said to Imra.

"Cool, as long as I get to be Wonder Woman in the 31st century, it's all good," Cassy teased.

Junior slipped behind her and slid his hands under her battle kilt. "You'll always be my Wonder Girl," he whispered to her. Cassy turned bright red. Junior pulled his hands back to a more socially respectable place and then wrapped them around her waist. "Seriously John, we're going with you all the way, but what's our next move?" he asked.

"We're not just going home to say goodbye," John admitted. "I am going to be running a war, and to be honest, I don't have a clue as how to do that. To hedge our bets, I thought I might 'borrow' my parents and a couple of JLA members as non-combatant, senior advisers," John explained.

"Dude, I so don't want be in the same county when your mom hears that you used her and the word senior in the same sentence," Junior teased.

Imra snickered at the look of fear on John's face as he said, "Yeah, I really need to rephrase that before I talk to them."

******House of El******

**New Watchtower Building – 2029**

Kara Kent sat on the rooftop of the JLA headquarters and held her wife, Diana in her arms. They had come to the roof to escape the throngs of superheroes trying to give them solace on the loss of their daughter. Diana was resting her head on Kara's shoulder. Cassandra's disappearance was especially hard for Diana who had never allowed herself to dream of having a child before the gods had graced her marriage to Kara with a daughter. The blonde alien stroked her dark hair, sensing how Diana was to giving up. "My princess, don't give up. Just because Rokk and Garth couldn't find Jon-El doesn't mean that they won't find Cassy and Junior," Kara whispered into Diana's hair. The Amazonian princess tightened her grip around Kara's waist. Their shared moment of tenderness was cut short by the glow of twin spheres of light from the center of the roof. When the light faded, their daughter was standing with the other two members of her team as well as the Legion member, Imra Ardeen.

"Moms!" Cassy yelled as she ran to embrace her mothers. The three women hugged and cried in relief at their reunion. When they brook free, Cassy motioned Tee'Oliver over and held his hand as soon as he reached them. "Mothers, I found my soulmate. He was right there in front of me the whole time," Cassy said with a smile.

Diana winked at Kara. "See, I told you he wasn't gay and she was going to end up with him. I win. You get to do the dishes for the next month," Diana taunted her mate. She reached over and pulled Junior in for a hug. Kara joined in and the four of them went for another round of family hugs. Kara and Diana realized they were neglecting Jon-El and stepped apart from Cassy and Junior to give him a hug as well. They both froze as they saw what he was wearing. Soon after, they noticed the changes to Saturn Girl's costume that reflected her new status as the Head of the House of El. The other members of Trinity felt the awkward pause and stepped to their leader's side. "_**I always knew Jon-El was like his father**__,"_ Diana thought, "_**Cassy and Junior look like they are ready to follow this Superman into hell, just like Kara and I will follow ours.**__" _Ever mindful of royal protocol, Diana strode forward and saluted the boy she had a part in raising. "Greetings to the Head of El, we would take it as a privilege to escort you to the residing Head," she said formally.

John returned the salute and responded by saying, "The House of El thanks you, Princess. We would be grateful for the escort, but first, I need a hug from my aunts," he said with the look in his eyes that always got him a cookie from Diana's kitchen.

Diana closed the distance between them and gave him a hug that would crush mere mortals into paste. She whispered in his ear, "Thank you for bringing me my daughter home safely." Diana let go so Kara could try to squeeze the air out of him.

"The suit looks good on you, Jon," Kara said approvingly. "Come on, let's get you four inside. I wouldn't want your mother to find out I delayed you on the roof," she laughed.

Rokk Krinn and Garth Ranzz stood in the center of the hangar floor two levels below the roof. They were making their final preparations to make the jump to 2010 to try to find Cassandra Kent and Tee'Oliver Queen. Only Lois, Clark, Elizabeth, Bruce Wayne, and Dick Grayson had shown up to see them off. Rokk looked over at Lois and Clark and had the gut wrenching feeling that he had let them down. He had failed to find and rescue their son – Jonathan Kent. When he first started out on this mission, he knew he didn't stand much of a chance of altering history, but he had needed to try for their sakes. He also knew that if he did manage to change things, there was good chance he might erase himself in the process.

Rokk was about to activate his ring when little Elizabeth let out an ear splitting, "Johnny!" and super sped to the stairs leading to the roof. Rokk spun around and watched El-El jump into the arms of her older brother who now wore the blue and red of Superman like his father. Imra stood by his side, her costume had become more alluring and commanding at the same time. Rokk was shocked even further to see the other members of Trinity standing next to Jon-El.

John made his way across the hangar to his parents after putting his sister on his shoulders. John stopped just short of his parents. "You wouldn't believe the past couple of weeks I've been having," John joked as he put Elizabeth down. Lois launched herself at her son. Clark was about to do the same but John stopped him with a raised hand of warning. "Dad, we're wearing the SAME suit. I don't know what would happen if they touched. Would you mind changing before we hugged?" he requested. A blur of motion and a flannel clad Clark was his response. The men hugged, never ashamed at expressing their feelings of love.

Clark put his arm around his son's shoulder and led the extended family to the elevator. "Let's head to the conference room. I'll order pizza. I'm guessing you have a lot to tell us," Clark said warmly to his oldest child.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**New Krypton – 31****st**** Century**

Emperor Zor-El IV and his son were standing in the audience chamber of his palace next to two corpses. The first corpse was that of his most beloved hunting beast, the one he had sent back in time to one of the two possible temporal locations Jon-El might have gone to when he activated the missing ring from the first assassin he had sent. The second corpse on the floor was a science technician that had been sent for to see why the dessert beast was dead. The man had pulled the long shaft out of the animal's head and immediately every Kryptonian in the room began to feel ill. Zor-El's son, Prince Zor-El V, acted quickly by grabbing the arrow out of the technician's hand and then plunging it into the scientist's body; using the body as shielding for the rest of them. The elder Zor-El let his mind drift to thoughts about the third assassin, the one who never checked in at all and whose ring was never accounted for. He had a strong suspicion the Legion had interfered and brought the boy, Jon-El, to this time to challenge him for his power. That would not be tolerated. Lower life forms must be shown their place.

"My son, I believe it is finally time for you to show the galaxy what kind of leader you are," the Emperor said. "It's time we fulfilled Kal-El's destiny and took over the Earth, for their own good of course," he stated.

"Of course, Father," the Prince said.

"Take a dreadnaught and a cruiser to subdue the planet's defenses. Our shock troops should be able to handle anything the Legion has left to throw at us," the old man said. "If they did manage to bring back the _hero,_ he will be no match for you," he scoffed.

"You're right as usual father, but I should be laying claim to the Earth as Emperor, not as Heir Apparent," the Prince pointed out.

Zor-El IV laughed at his son's audacity. "You'll just have to be patient. I plan on ruling both planets for quite some time," he told his son.

The Prince shook his head in what looked like defeat. "You're right father, I'm sorry," he apologized. Zor-El V slipped the blue Kryptonite dagger out of his robes and plunged it into his father's spine, just below the neck. Zor-El IV slipped to the floor, unable to move or breathe. "You always did tell me to take whatever I thought was mine," he told his father, who was dead seconds later. Zor-El V knelt by the third corpse on the floor and closed his father's eyes. "The Emperor is dead; long live the Emperor," he said lovingly. Zor-El V stood and gave the orders to have the ships his late father suggested readied. He had a planet to conquer.

******House of El******

**Metropolis - New Watchtower Building – 2029**

Clark looked over his assembled friends and family in the conference room of the New Watchtower building. His son, John, had been returned to him and was now giving them an overview of the past two weeks from his perspective. Clark's future (and he did mean _future) _daughter-in-law, Imra, filled in details about the threat his decedentsposed in the 31st century. While Imra was speaking, Lois gave Clark several glances to say that she also noticed the changes in Saturn Girl compared to the woman they spoke to in the loft. When the young couple was done bringing the group up to speed, Lois used her press conference skills to be the first to ask a question. "John, before we go any further, I need to ask a clarifying question. Are you sure about going back to the 31st century and fighting a war that isn't your own?" she asked her son. She knew what his answer was going to be, but she wanted to hear him say it.

"Mom, our family is screwing things up and killing people," he said. "I… _WE _won't allow that to go on anymore," John said looking at Imra after catching himself at the beginning. "It's like you and Dad always taught me, think of others before yourself. If I can save even one life, then it is worth the journey," he told them.

Lois looked at Clark, sadness and pride warring in heart. "I hate it when you throw our words back at us," she told her son. "Well as one Head of the House to a potential one, what can we do to help?" she asked.

"I would like to ask some of you to come back with us, as advisers only," John replied. "We can't risk any of you in battle, but I can pick your brains. I was hoping you and Dad would come along to give me advice on how to sway the House when I confront Zor-El, as well as how to lead them once I do," he stated. Clark and Lois nodded.

"Since each ring can take two people, Lois and I can use my ring," Clark said. John noticed for the first time that his father was wearing the Legion ring Rokk had given him. John wouldn't have been surprised to learn that his dad had been planning on striking out on his own to find him.

"Thank you, Kal-El," Imra said with feeling.

"None of that, it's 'Dad' or 'Clark', understand?" Clark scolded playfully.

"And if you call me 'Mrs. Kent' I'm cooking your next meal," Lois threatened. John and Bruce both sat up straighter in their chairs and looked momentarily worried. They had both made Lois angry enough to have received that punishment. Imra reached into her mind to check the copy of John's memories she now shared and brought up a memory of when his mother had insisted on cooking a full meal. "Brought up" was the correct phrase, as the vivid memory triggered a gag reflex in Imra.

"Thanks again, Clark… Lois," Imra added quickly.

"I would be glad to offer my services," J'onn J'onzz said. "There is a lot of equipment scattered throughout this system that was built by my species. It will have easily stood the test of time and be perfectly functional in Imra's century," he boasted. "If I can get to Mars, I am sure I can get those systems back on line and working on behalf of the proper House of El again," the Martian Manhunter said, his usual calm voice predatory.

"We can use all of the extra firepower we can get, and since it's already there in the future, we won't risk screwing up the timeline," John said thankfully.

"I may also be of help with another matter," J'onn said. "I noticed you are wearing a House Suit of Leadership. Am I correct in assuming it is the same one your father wears?" he inquired. John nodded. "Touching those two suits (or Lois' to Imra's) could be disastrous and cause a time space implosion roughly the size of Belgium," the Martian warned, "but if you and Imra would be so kind as to take my hands, we can fix that." John and Imra stood up and each took one of J'onn's offered hands. As soon as they did, John extended his ability to dematerialize to encompass them and the three of them fell through the floor. A few minutes later they reappeared with both John and Imra looking like they had eaten Lois' meatloaf.

"I think I passed through the janitor," John said weakly.

Imra gave him a dirty look. "So what. He was cleaning the men's restroom. _I_ passed through the toilet," she countered. Imra gave the male heroes a disgusted look. "For a bunch of superheroes, you think you guys could aim better," she complained.

The Martian Manhunter looked slightly embarrassed. "I forgot to tell you to close your eyes, didn't I?" he asked. John and Imra tried to glare at him, but were to nauseous to hold the look. "Sorry. Anyway, by taking you through every floor of the building and 30 feet of bedrock while out of phase, you and your suits have had your quantum signatures altered by an imperceptible amount. In truth, the amount isn't even measurable," he said.

"There better be a point to this or so help me I _will_ implant a suggestion in your mind making you think plaid and paisley go well together," Imra threatened. Lois gave her an approving nod.

"The amount isn't measurable, but it is there. The quantum signatures have been changed, therefore the suits are no longer identical to the ones Kal and Lois wear," J'onn explained.

"You couldn't have just given us the short explanation?" Imra asked.

"I think that was the short explanation," John said with a half-hearted smile. "Not that Dad or Mom will be allowed outside of Legion Headquarters once we get there, but it will be reassuring to know that if shit does hit the fan, Dad and I can fight side by side," he acknowledged.

Batman stood up and looked at his godson. "John, don't take offense at this, but you're going to need someone who isn't as saccharine sweet as your folks to help you run the actual war side of things," he interjected. Lois looked like she was going to climb over the table and punch the Dark Knight in the face. He only smiled at her. Clark took it as the backhanded compliment it was meant as and put a restraining hand on his wife.

Imra smirked and asked, "Are you volunteering, Bruce? Do you suddenly give a damn about my future?"

"_**There's more fire to her than I thought**__," _Bruce mused happily. "You're going to marry my godson. That makes you family, and yes, that makes your future important to me," he assured Imra. "You two are getting married, aren't you?" Bruce asked sternly.

"Yes Bruce," John sighed, teasing his godfather. "Imra is going to make an honest man out of me. We just haven't had time to set a date yet," John said.

"Tomorrow," Lois said.

"What?" her son asked.

"You're getting married tomorrow. Then you will spend the next day after that doing what newlyweds do. After that, you can go wage interstellar war, young man," Lois said in her "take no prisoners" tone of voice.

"That sounds great, Mom; but where are we supposed to have this wedding. Churches love to keep records and we have to make sure all of the records show that Trinity died two weeks ago," he said.

"Then get married where normal historians are forbidden," Diana suggested. She looked at her daughter. "I think Lois has a wonderful idea. I insist on being at the wedding of my daughter. There shall be a double wedding ceremony at noon in the Temple of Aphrodite on the Island of Themyscira. The House of El shall be our Royal guests tonight and stay in their usual accommodations," the Amazonian Princess decreed. "Arrangements will be made to allow for the other men to attend the wedding. I will have Pegasus pick them up here at 11:00 AM, Island time," she said. "Since it only holds three, Bruce can fly his own bat-butt over in his bat-jet, or bat-plane, or bat-whatever," Diana teased.

Bruce gave her the bat-finger, but was smiling when he did it. They had become close friends, almost as close as he was with Clark over the years. Wonder Woman, Amazonian Princess and demigod, stuck her tongue out at him.

"Why can't Bruce, Oliver, Rokk, and Garth stay on the Island like the rest of us?" Imra asked.

"In all of the history of my people," Diana said, "there have been only three mortal men who have been allowed unrestricted access to the Island of Themyscira. The first was Kal, my wife's cousin. He was granted free reign of the island based on what the seers saw in his heart after I vouched for him. The other two…" Diana's voiced trailed off as she relived happy memories. "The other two were practically raised on the island from birth. When they both turned 16, they went willingly in front of the seers to have their hearts examined to see if they should be allowed to remain." Diana looked at her "nephews". "Of course the seers found them worthy, I helped raise them," Diana boasted with a wink. "No other men are allowed on the Island of Themyscira without special permission and then only for the least amount of time possible," she explained.

"Imra, you'll be staying at our house tonight with Cassy and us," Kara told Saturn Girl.

Cassy smiled and said, "Tradition. The married couple stays apart the night before their wedding. But don't worry; my moms throw some wicked parties."

The assembled friends and family of the Kents, excluding those who weren't allowed on the island, assembled on the balcony and figured out flight plans. Lois climbed into Clark's arms with timed honed practice. Elizabeth jumped onto her brother's back, not yet having learned how to fly. Cassy took Junior in her arms. He looked at John. "Not that I don't love being held by Cassy, but do I get a Legion ring when we get to 31st century?" he asked. "I've always had a small case of flight envy," Junior admitted. The group laughed good naturedly and took off into the sky.

The sisters of Island of Themyscira welcomed their visitors with hugs and exclamations of joy at the next day's wedding. The temple keepers raced off to prepare things, not at all upset at having to work through the night. They had watched Cassandra, Tee'Oliver, and Jonathan grow up and were honored to have them get married at their temple. The women of the House of El waved good-bye to the three men and headed off to Kara and Diana's "house" (which in reality was a palace overlooking the village.) Tee'Oliver excused himself and headed for bed early, the events of the past 24 hours wearing him out. That left only Clark and his son, their alien strength making them not tired at all.

Clark watched his son for a moment, amazed at how fast time had gone buy. Like all parents, it seemed like a few days had passed since he had held the squirming infant that they named after his father. Now he was standing with the same child on the night before his wedding, wondering what to do to pass the time. "Well John, you're as fast as I am. We can go anywhere and do anything tonight. What do you feel up for?" Clark asked.

John gave his dad a huge grin. "Right now I can't think of anything I want to do more than play of game of catch with my dad," he replied. John super sped down to the beach where he and Clark would go when Lois was up at Kara's. Clark rushed after him. In a blur of motion, they were both standing on the beach, a hundred yards apart. John picked up their favorite "ball" which they left on this beach for just such an occasion. The "ball" was a super dense piece of meteorite one foot across and weighing nearly two tons. He tossed it to Clark who caught it and tossed it back. The men played like this for nearly an hour in companionable silence. They both knew this was probably the last time they would be able to do this together.

Eventually John put the "ball" down and walked to his father. "You know Dad, all my life you have told me how proud you were of me and how much you loved me, but now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever really told you how much you mean to me," John said. "I've grown up knowing that the world sees you as a hero, and I want you to know that you're my hero too; just not for the same reasons," he started to explain. "You're my hero because of the way you love mom and how you raised me to love and respect other people. You're my hero because even with the weight of the world on your shoulders, you have always thought of us first. I guess what I'm trying to say is, you're my hero because you're my dad and I'm proud to be a Kent," he said proudly. John had tears flowing from eyes. Clark matched him, tear for tear. The two Kent men, the two most powerful superheroes on the planet, hugged while they cried; expressing the love between father and son.

The next morning, the Sun rose to a flurry of activity at Temple Square. Sisters from around the island had come together before dawn and were working on either decorating the various temples or preparing the wedding feast. Everyone was excited. There hadn't been such a momentous wedding since the royal wedding of their Princess to Kara-Zor-El, the Star Warrior. The seers were given the honor of helping Cassy and Imra get ready for the big event. No one was surprised when the seers brought forth two white Athenian gowns bordered in gold, already sized for the two young women. The seers did get a few good natured shouts of "cheaters" from some of the other sisters when they admitted the gowns had been ready for at least two months.

When it was time for the ceremony, friends and family sat in expectation. The couples' parents sat in the front row with Rokk and Garth filling in for Imra's family. In reverse of "western" tradition, Imra and Cassy stood on the dais waiting for their men to arrive. The trumpets sounded, alerting the village that heroes had returned. John and Tee'Oliver strode into the temple, side by side. They wore matching leather battle dress of Diana's family, complete with the leather kilt. Attached to the front of the armor were shiny bronze chest plates depicting the emblem for the Royal guard of Themyscira (both boys had earned a spot on the guard when they were they were 12.) Tee'Oliver wore a green laurel in his hair and John a blue to show their family heritage. They stopped at the base of the dais in unison and dropped to one knee, bowing.

"Rise, sons of Themyscira, for if ever there were two men more worthy of being called that, I know them not," the High Priestess of Aphrodite said. She stepped down to them and took them by the hands. She walked them up to the women and placed their hands in theirs. The priestess turned to look at the audience. "Today we mark the marriage of two extraordinary couples," she said. "But they are not extraordinary because of their gifts and super powers. They are extraordinary because they have found true love or else Aphrodite would not have consented for them to have been wed here in this Temple," she announced, pausing to allow that to sink in. "I have known three of these young people for all of their lives, and have recently met the fourth and know her for the strong, brave woman that her fiancé says she is," the Priestess said with a smile. She looked first at Cassy and Junior and then at John and Imra. "It is with the utmost joy and pleasure that I proclaim you to be married in Aphrodite's sight. Please turn and face your family and friends and proclaim yourselves," she gently ordered.

"I am Cassandra Kent-Queen, wife of Tee'Oliver Queen, until I die," Cassy said.

"I am Tee'Oliver Queen, husband to Cassandra of Themyscira, until I die," Tee'Oliver proclaimed.

Imra took in a deep breath, looked into her husband's handsome brown eyes and smiled like she had never smiled before. "I am Imra Kent, wife of Jonathan Kent, until I die," she said proudly.

"My name is Jonathan Kent, husband to Imra, hero of the Legion, until I die, permanently," he added, wanting there to be no doubt considering how resilient Kryptonians could be.

The High Priestess of Aphrodite smiled at the future Head of the House of El and his choose of words. "I bless your marriages and love for all of eternity," she said ending the ceremony. The crowd rose, greeting the newlyweds with thunderous applause. "Now if you will all head to Dionysus' temple, we can start the feast," she said rubbing her hands together. The crowd laughed and waited for the newlyweds to walk out of the temple first.

While everyone was walking out of the temple, Diana walked towards the dais and the High Priestess. She embraced the woman with a hug and whispered in the other woman's ear, "Thank you, mother Aphrodite. It means a lot to me that you did this in person."

Clark returned from dropping Elizabeth off with his mother so she could spend the next 36 hours at the farm. Imra had confided in Lois about her worries concerning the mental link between Jon and his sister and what had happened to the psychics the first time Imra and John had made love. They had consulted with the head seer who said the combination of the distance between Kansas and the island and the mystical barriers around Themyscira would provide the shielding needed for the couple to enjoy themselves without worrying.

Lois was waiting for Clark on the balcony of the chateau that had been built for the House of El. It had been built on a cliff, overlooking the sea. The balcony was private and had a large, padded chaise lounger on it. Lois was wearing a linen robe and Clark super sped out of his suit and into a matching robe. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Do you remember the first time we came to this island," she asked him, nuzzling his strong arms.

"Of course I do," Clark replied. He knew Lois was aware of his eidetic memory, so he wondered where she was headed with this line of questions.

Lois turned around and faced her husband. "Then you remember the cove," she said seductively. Clark now saw where this was headed and was all smiles.

"Shall I go get a blanket, Mrs. Lane-Kent?" he asked politely.

Lois remembered how hot and sensual the first time had been but she also remembered wishing they had brought a blanket. "Yes, Mr. Kent, a blanket would be nice," she laughed at their little ritual. They tried to get to the cove at least once a visit. "You know weddings always get me horny," she reminded him. Clark went off to the bedroom and grabbed a spare blanket. He then picked Lois up and flew to the other side of the island, far from the village.

The cove was a small area cut out from the surrounding cliff side by a small stream. It left an area of sand roughly 30 feet across with the cliffs towering over 300 feet above them. The sea was crystal clear and reflected the crescent of the moon like a polished mirror. Clark landed and spread out the blanket. He held down the corners with the perfectly smooth stones they had found over the years. Lois pulled the sash on her robe and opened to reveal her still beautiful nude body. She shrugged her shoulders and the robe fell to the blanket. Clark undid the tie to his robe and neatly folded his robe, placing it next to hers. Lois walked naked to the shore line and dove into the sea. Clark jumped from where they had the blanket placed and slid into the water next to her. "Show off," she teased. Lois swam for a few minutes letting the cool water play over all of her body. Eventually she swam up to Clark who had been watching her, entranced.

"You're so beautiful, Lois," Clark told her. He had told her countless times and meant it every time. She swam even closer and slid her palm over his stiff cock. She stood up and her breasts just barely rode above the water line. She kept her hand on his prick and started to slowly stroke it, up and down. Clark reached out and pulled her to him so he could kiss her. Their lips met and then their tongues slowly drifted around each other. Lois's tongue was moving in time with her hand. Clark slid his hand between her legs and gently stroked the folds to her opening, teasing her. Lois opened her legs wider, inviting his hand in. Clark cupped her pussy with his palm and then slid two fingers inside of her instead of just one like he normally started with. His thumb rubbed small circles on her clit.

"Ummmmm… that feels good, Smallville," she moaned. Clark increased his speed slightly and Lois let go of his cock to wrap her arms around his neck for support.

Clark pulled his fingers out and replaced them with his cock. He held Lois tight to him and whispered to her, "Just temporary while we switch locations." He slowly lifted them out of the water and flew them to the blanket, still joined. After they landed, Clark pulled out and said, "I need to taste you, Lois." Lois pulled her knees up and opened her legs wide to give her husband full access to her pussy. Clark started by nibbling her inner thighs and then kissing her inner folds. Then he thrust his tongue deep inside her, tasting her musky sweetness. Clark dragged his tongue up to her clit and flicked it with his tip. He then put his whole mouth over her clit, sucking and licking. Lois grabbed fistfuls of Clark's hair and started humping into his face.

Her moans became loader than the crashing waves and she threw back head screaming, "Fuck, yes! Kal, yes!" Taking that as an invitation, Clark brought his mouth off her pussy. He started to lean forward to make love to her when she stopped him with her hand to his chest. Lois rolled over onto all four and then lowered her head to the blanket. She reached behind her and pulled her ass cheeks apart giving him full view of her pussy and anus. Clark was stunned for a moment. He could count on one hand the number of times Lois had taken a submissive posture like this while making love. He snapped out of it and plunged his hard cock deep into her pussy, ramming against her g-spot. Clark used one hand to spread her cheeks (letting Lois use her arms to support herself) and with the other he held her waist, pulling her against his cock with every thrust. Clark leaned slightly to one side to watch her beautiful, full breasts sway in time with the motion. They both started moaning and Clark almost came when Lois reached between her legs and cradled his balls on the down stroke. He started using shorter, but faster strokes so she could keep a hold of his testicles. Lois began moaning again and then screaming in ecstasy as she climaxed for a second time. When she climaxed, she gripped Clark's balls as hard as she possibly could. This drove Clark over the edge, causing him to cum as well. When the last spurt was out of his shaft, Clark pulled out and rolled Lois over. He lay down next to her and kissed her with passion.

"That was awesome, Lois," Clark said breathlessly.

"Yes," Lois managed to croak out, her voice hoarse.

"Do you want to head back to the chateau?" Clark inquired. For an answer, Lois put her head on his chest and covered them with his robe. "Yeah, me either. We just have to back before it's time to head back and relieve my mom," he said.


End file.
